Revolution
by bertrum123
Summary: In this long, arduous journey we follow Iggy Koopa as he struggles through his teenage life, along with his brother, Lemmy. They both have a lot to deal with due to the tyrant King that may or may not be their true father!
1. The Beginning

**To my reviewers for my stories: I'm sorry that, due to me deleting the stories that are to be integrated into this, your reviews will be gone; I hope to never have a repeat of that. I really appreciate the reviews you left and I hope you will continue to review this story as it continues to grow.  
>Okay, so here it is. I've decided to put the single factions of this story into one entity, for convenience more than anything. There is a lot I could do to improve on this, but it's my first ever 'proper' story, so I hope you enjoy it and find it entertaining enough to read the whole thing.<br>_There are a few things I need to explain before you read this, just for fun:_  
>Probably the most important of these points is that I'm Scottish. If you see a word that is spelled wrong, or the grammar seems off, it's most likely because I'm using a different set of rules to those that you are used to. 'Never mind' is two words. Argue if you like, but it's proper English.<br>This story is from Iggy Koopa's point of view; it's mainly based on Lemmy and him, so if you don't like either of those characters (how could you not like them, though?) then feel free to flee.  
>Also, I feel the need to explain my formatting: I tried to emulate paperback books, as this is the way I love to read, and write.<br>Fun fact: when the Koopalings take off their shells in this story, it is my personal equivalent to them being 'bare' or 'nude', if you will, as I treat the shells as their clothing. It's very similar to Rick Griffin's 'Housepets!' Comic in which when the animals take off their collars it has the same effect.  
>Also, this story has a wide-spread timeframe between the chapters: there is <em>always<em> a gap. I could fix that; maybe I will at some point, but right now that's just how it is.  
>I made up the Koopalings personalities with the canon in mind, but I developed them in ways that suited me.<br>One last thing: this story is rated T for strong emotional themes, conflict, etc. It has no erotic moments, if that's what you're looking for, then you're not on the right end of this site. Now cute moments, _that_ I can supply.  
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**DISCLAIMER: all character's belong to their respective owners - i.e Nintendo. Okay, let's get on with this already!  
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><p><em><strong>Prologue: Meeting Lemmy.<br>**_

The openings of my life, - as well as that of my siblings - are shrouded and unknown. Where we actually came from is a mystery. Bowser would have us believe we were his flesh and blood; however, when Bowser Junior came along, some of us began to piece together that this may be false; especially when he was named heir to the throne. Ludwig has voiced the opinion that we may have been separate adoptions. None of us quite know exactly what happened and Bowser is vague and evasive when we ask him about it. As we get older, Bowser is becoming more volatile: we're no longer his children, but maybe even his slaves; even at a young age we were forced to fight Mario for that matter. It's also strange that, although as a race we have fantastic memories and can recall even the beginnings of our lives: the memories required to prove exactly how we were born are blank, almost as though tampered with. It is, however, common knowledge in the family and even among the staff that after Lemmy and I locked eyes for the first time, a euphoric bond was instantly forged.

When I was just a baby, crying was an issue for me: I cried an unusual amount; my need for attention was insatiable and I wouldn't stop crying even when being given attention. Everyone who had tried to calm me down was reaching the end of a very long tether with me after a couple of weeks. For some odd reason I had never been introduced to any of my siblings, - presumably due to my crying - but one night: Lemmy had caught a glimpse of me through a small gap in my door, sitting in my cot. I was crying because I had been left alone by Bowser while he was working. Lemmy, being incredibly agile, - even at such a young age - managed to find a way to surmount my cot and hop into it. I had been crying violently for a good two weeks with little break, but after I looked at my brother with my big, puffy eyes, my crying ceased: he was smiling brilliantly at me; he picked me up gently and cradled me in his arms. I remember him crooning softly into my ear, but I can't remember what the words were. I just remember being content for the first time in my life. He ran his hand through the small tufts of hair that had began to grow on my head and I started laughing for the first time since I had entered the hallowed halls of Bowser's Castle. I must have been in Lemmy's arms for a couple of hours before someone notified Bowser of the lack of noise coming from my room. When Bowser finally entered he looked fearful: perhaps thinking I had severely hurt myself. As his eyes landed on Lemmy and I, they narrowed. I remember him looking angry and barking at Lemmy. He lifted Lemmy out of my cot and the tide began to flow once more: I was howling louder than ever. Bowser looked incredulously between the two of us before placing Lemmy back in my cot. Lemmy looked back at me with a half smile; his eyes were slightly tearful after Bowser had scalded him. I began to laugh and his eyes lit up. Bowser turned away, staring at the wall thoughtfully. He turned back after a moment, looking as though he might say something. He decided, however, that he would just leave the two us alone and left the room; mumbling as he went. After the door closed, Lemmy picked me up once more and I cheered happily. He began to lift me higher and higher and I jovially giggled in response. Having had little sleep for the past couple of weeks had taken its toll on me, however, and I slowly began to drop off. Lemmy noticed and so lowered me, he then began humming a beautiful tune; rocking me gently. I fell asleep in his arms and was dead to the world until the sunrise.  
>This is the first memory I have of my life and to this day: it remains my favourite.<p> 


	2. The Dream

_**Chapter One: Iggy's Insanity**_

I awoke to find spectral lights of all colours dancing in front of my eyes, causing me to squint in discomfort. I allowed my eyes to adjust to my surroundings and stood up grimacing in the bright light, I did a full turn and something caught my eye on the horizon. I saw what seemed to be a figure appearing out of the glare. I narrowed my eyes attempting to get a better view in the harsh light.  
>"H-hello?" I called, but the figure seemingly couldn't hear me, its body shape seemed to be shimmering along with the lights. I thought for a moment, and decided to try another approach. Raising both arms, I began to frantically wave in the direction of the outline. I had a strange and extreme desire to make contact with someone, something in this strange new setting. Hopefully this apparition knew what this place was and why we were here. I pondered for a moment and decided it was possible I was dreaming, but everything felt too real to back that idea up. I gave up waving as the shape seemed to be taking no heed of me; I noticed it had turned and began to edge to the left. I thought there would be no harm in following as long as I was cautious and so I did the same and began to walk to my right, keeping parallel to the shape but keeping distance between us. Something about it made me want to have a safe amount of head start should I need to flee.<p>

For what felt like hours I continued to walk in a straight line following this strange shadow. My mind began to slow as I got tired, sweat beads had begun to trickle down the side of my head, the heat in the area didn't help. The gravity in the area was also seemingly becoming intense and just walking seemed like a mission at this stage. My breaths slowly began to deteriorate into rasps and my eyes started to droop as I tried to concentrate. The shape was still in view but had noticeably taken over me and was a good fifty metres in front. I attempted to quicken my pace but found even more resistance. Slowly things became too much; I dropped to my knees, even holding my head up was a struggle: my body felt like it weighed three times its usual weight. With my hands sprawled out horizontally, I attempted to lift my head and look in the direction of which the shape was moving and saw that something had changed: the shape was expanding; it was no longer in the form of a man. I attempted to cover my ears to shield them from the piercing cries that were suddenly filling the space but found my arms were too heavy to respond. I could do nothing but watch and listen in horror as the shape expanded. Anguished screeches seemed to reverberate around invisible walls, intensifying the sound. I tried to move. I needed to move. I needed to escape. I had to get away. Nothing was working. My body refused to respond, but suddenly everything stopped.

The screaming came to a halt as though it had never been happening; the gravity returned to normal. The shape stopped expanding, it now took on the form of a black hole. I stood up, confused and wary, and felt the sudden urge to enter the black hole: it emanated serenity which felt like it was my top priority at this stage. I took a step towards it. The shape responded with encouragement. It felt like it was beckoning to me, so I continued to walk in its direction. I began to hear voices.  
>"Come here, it's alright. Here your troubles will be over. It's alright."<br>The voices were soothing, I walked closer. I could feel a voice in the back of my mind telling me to flee, to get away. I began to turn but found I couldn't.  
>"It's alright, here your troubles will be over. Come." I forced myself to look away but my legs continued to travel in the direction of the shape.<br>"It's alright. Come here." I was getting closer, panic began to set in now and I began to flail my arms around wildly in a ludicrous attempt to escape the bind of which had captivated my body. I cried out, but nothing was helping.  
>"Just a little bit closer." Sweat was openly flowing down my head and neck now; I could feel my face turning red from the exertion, but nothing was stopping me.<br>"Closer ... Come here." I was within the confines of the shadow now and its black smoke had begun to spiral around my feet. Tears began to flow freely down my face.  
>"Closer!" The intensity of the voice was heightening and its original softness had disappeared.<br>"**CLOSER!**" The words echoed around my head, getting louder and deeper. The smoke was up to my torso as I continued to walk deeper into the never ending abyss. I let out another strangled scream, attempting to free myself once more. In response I heard diabolical laughter ringing through my ears. It was up to my arms. I flailed around attempting to push the force away and the smoke with it. The laughter got even louder; it was taunting me. It was up to my shoulders. A moan escaped my lips, I presumed this was how I would die. It circled my head; the laughing intensified even more. My head felt like it would surely split open from the pain. It began to block my vision-

"Iggy?" My eyes shot open. Two feet from my face was my older yet smaller brother, Lemmy. He was looking at me with deep concern and fear in his eyes. I was covered in a film of sweat and tears were staining my face; I was shaking violently from top to bottom. "Are you alright!?" I couldn't respond, talking was too much right now. I simply smiled in an apologetic manner. Lemmy let out a deep sigh of relief and sat down beside me. I wouldn't worry him with the details of my near death simulation right now: maybe I could tell him later.


	3. Theories

I slowly lowered my head onto Lemmy's lap, and he openly accepted, clearly having noticed how distressed I was; but he didn't ask any further questions. My breathing was beginning to slow down and my heart rate was levelling out: listening to Lemmy's deep breathing was slowly bringing me back to reality. I felt slightly guilty for the fact I was lying on him while covered in sweat and tears, but he didn't seem to mind, we always had been incredibly close, after all. A few minutes passed by, in which I contentedly listened to Lemmy's breathing before I finally found my voice:  
>"Thank you, Lemmy," I whispered weakly, looking up at him sadly.<br>"Any time. Are you feeling a bit better now?" Lemmy replied, an edge of panic to his voice. I paused for a moment; weighing up my options. Finally, I decided I would tell Lemmy what had happened, but only after I had cleaned up. After all, I still needed time to fully process exactly what I had experienced myself.  
>"Yes, thanks to you. I'll tell you all about what happened," I said, smiling; "If you could allow me some time to restore my dignity first," I added light-heartedly: I didn't want him to feel too tense. It had the effect I was hoping for as he laughed and replied:<br>"Well, I suppose so, since it's you." I half-forced a laugh and indicated that I would be right back before getting up and shakily making my way to my en suite shower room.

After the door was securely closed behind me I let out a deep sigh before travelling towards the mirror slowly. I stared into it, watching my accusing gaze as though expecting something to happen. After a minute or so I gave up as nothing was changing. I ran my hands through my hair and rubbed my eyes in an attempt to try and wake up slightly. I then carefully removed my shell and my glasses before walking over to the shower. I tried turning the knob that caused the shower to turn on but found that: due to the fact my hands were still shaky and frail there was a lot of resistance. I huffed and pushed harder; exerting myself caused lights to flash bang behind my eyes and my head to burst in pain once again. I held on to the shower rail as my balance wavered and waited for the pain to pass and for the room to settle. Cursing at the embarrassment of the situation, I put my shell back on and poked my head out of the shower room. Lemmy was lying on my bed humming an unfamiliar tune. He must have heard the door click as he lifted his head.  
>"Everything alright?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. I explained the situation with a wry expression.<br>"Oh ... Well no problem Iggy, I'll help you," Lemmy chirped as he hopped off the bed. He passed me nonchalantly continuing to hum and turned the shower on, deftly dodging the initial spurts. "Here you go, enjoy!" He smiled as he passed me again, as though he had done something as normal as emptying my bin for me.  
>"T-thanks a lot ... " I mumbled, staring at the ground. After closing the door behind me again, I repeated the initial process and got in the shower.<p>

The hot needles dug into my skin and ejected their warmth into my body. I held my face under the deluge for a few minutes before actually doing anything, to allow its heat to fully fill my body. I sat down on the floor - something that wasn't unusual for me in the shower when I was thinking - and ran through exactly what had happened in my dream, but it didn't make any more sense the second time. I wracked my brain for explanations as to what had happened: had I gone crazy? Was it just a strange dream? It had felt so real, was it a dream at all? What would have happened to me if Lemmy hadn't found me? All of these questions began to whisk around in my head, merging into one big blob of uncertainty; uncertainty made me uneasy.  
>"It was only a dream." I spoke the words aloud as if expecting an answer. I decided that thinking more about what I had experienced would only lead to further confusion and so gave up. I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. My hands had regained some of their former strength and so drying myself was at least less of a mission than turning the shower on.<p>

I opened the door and found Lemmy in the same position he had been in before; he was humming a new tune, one I knew well. It was one of his favourites he had hummed since we were both just children. I smiled as sudden nostalgia rolled over me; he looked up at me and emulated my smile.  
>"Didn't you think to open the curtains? It's a bit dark in here." I laughed before crossing to the windows and drawing both curtains to the side.<br>"I didn't think to, no. I don't really mind either way," Lemmy replied simply, squinting up at me as the light of the sun had just travelled directly into his eyes.  
>"Fair enough, I feel-" I paused for a moment, looking out into the morning sun. " ... Less comfortable in darkness," I finished gravely.<br>"I know you do, it was always a problem when we were younger," Lemmy remarked, with a more serious look on his face, "Was that what the dream was about ... ?" He continued, looking at me sympathetically.  
>"Yes and no. It was ... Complicated," I replied with a frown.<br>I sat down beside him and went into full details about every little thing that had happened in the dream, careful not to miss anything out.

Lemmy sat silently through-out the whole account. His expression, unreadable, he had his eyes fixed on my bed sheets as though processing it all as I had tried to do. After I had finished he remained in this frozen state for a minute or two before looking at me with renewed sympathy in his eyes.  
>"That sounds horrifying ... " He put a hand on mine and smiled. "I hope you're feeling alright now."<br>"I'm feeling much better about it all," I lied, averting my eyes. Lemmy frowned.  
>"What do you really think about it? You've been thinking about this in the shower, haven't you?" There was no getting passed Lemmy, not in my case anyway; he could see straight through me. I sighed, took a deep breath and as I opened my mouth the words flew out:<br>"I feel like it was an indication to something, like I'm losing my mind." Lemmy hadn't been expecting that; his eyes widened and he looked more sympathetic than ever.  
>"Oh, Iggy, I'm sure it's not that, it was just a dream. They don't mean anything." I stared at him for a second.<br>"But ... It felt so real, it didn't even feel like it was a dream; I could feel the pain!" My voice began to rise in hysteria.  
>"Alright, take a deep breath: it's alright Iggy," Lemmy replied soothingly. I did as I was told and then lay my head down on the bed.<br>"I'm sure you're just reading too much into this ... " Lemmy continued, smiling at me.  
>"Yeah, you're probably right," I replied, forcing a smile back. Lemmy ran his hand through my hair; this calmed me.<br>"Just remember, I'm here; If you need me I'm never far away." My smile became genuine upon hearing this and I sat up to give Lemmy a quick hug.  
>"I can always count on you, Lemmy."<p> 


	4. Progressions

Over the course of the next few days, things seemingly returned to normal. I continued my usual day-to-day routine. This involved eating the three standard meals of the day: served in the large, granite, semi-circular room that served as our dining room. Succulent meals were provided - using only organic ingredients - by a large work-force hidden away within the kitchens of Dark Lands largest castle. I had never really had much of an interest in food, so I had never even ventured near the kitchens. The staff were grumpy and intimidating so I made a point of staying out of their way. The staff weren't the only people I attempted to avoid, though: I steered clear of Roy in particular, who used me as his personal anger vent any chance he was given; he was always angry. I also stayed far away from Wendy, as her shrill voice and constant need for attention gave me a migraine. "_I want it, I want it, I want it!_" was one of her favourite phrases, for example. Lemmy was really the only one of my siblings I could fully stand being around for lengthy periods of times. I must admit I would happily love to get to know Larry, but he wasn't the most open of Koopalings, and Ludwig was far too grumpy to make contact with, in general: especially after he was told he was no longer heir. If I had to guess, I'd say Lemmy felt the same way as I did about our family.  
>After meals I would generally procrastinate the day away, wandering the castle with Lemmy. It would be nice if we felt we could move around the grounds, but the barren wastes of Dark Land - devoid of any signs of vegetation - weren't much to behold. So we stayed inside.<p>

I awoke in the pitch blackness that was my room, covered in a sheet of sweat and trembling; the feeling was so familiar I had to stop myself retching. The dream had returned, and felt more real than ever. I had known better this time, yet that made the hellish re-enactment no less unpleasant. My breathing was still shallow and was getting worse; the heat in the room was unbearable. After a short amount of time I could barely breathe at all. I threw my covers off and stood up, but I moved far too fast. Trying to ignore the wave of nausea that washed over me as the blood rushed to my head, I moved the curtains to the side and fumbled with the bolt that could lead to my reprieve. Much to my dismay: the bolt was as unyielding as the shower had been.  
>"Why didn't I open you before I went to sleep ... ?" I groaned, my voice was so croaky it barely made an audible noise. I stuck my face against the cool glass and found it to be a suitable replacement for night-time air; however, it was only temporary: my body heat quickly caused the window to heat up to room temperature. I took my head off the window and staggered towards my door, nearly tripping over several knick-knacks I had strewn across my floor - as well as my shell - on the way. Cursing at my untidy room, I finally reached the door. The heat was really beginning to take its toll now and my vision was beginning to blur, slightly. Fearing I would pass out: I tried the handle and almost cried out when I found my hands were too clammy to turn it effectively. Luckily only a few feet from me lay a crumpled up hand towel I had thrown down the day before. I bent down and grabbed it, but straightening back up caused a fresh wave of nausea to hit me right between the eyes; I was now seeing two of everything. With one last effort I grabbed the handle with the towel surrounding my hand, turned it and yanked the door with every last bit of force I could muster. The door flew open and as I let go it flew into the wall, resulting in a large bang echoing down the corridor outside my room. I dismissed this and half fell forward, out into the cold night air; - that was flowing in through a large open window at the end of the hall - greedily swallowing every gulp of air that I could. I began to compose myself and after what seemed an hour decided it would probably be best that I made my way to Lemmy.<p>

I stood outside Lemmy's room, the cold air had restored my breathing, but my head was still reeling: the whole castle appeared to be moving around me; the nausea was unbearable and before I knew what was happening I was on the floor with a dull thud. I heard movement from inside Lemmy's room and sighed: this wasn't the way I had planned to tell him of my recent attack. The door opened hesitantly and I saw Lemmy's face appear out of the gloom. He looked around and gasped when he saw my slumped form on the floor.  
>"Iggy? What happened!?" He whispered in alarm, rushing to my side to help me up. I groaned in response as that was all I could do right now. I accepted his arm and he helped to stand me up. I was swaying violently and he had to hold me to ensure I didn't topple to the floor again.<br>"Steady now, I've got you." He began to lead me into his room; after we had gained access I managed to utter one word:  
>"Bathroom." Lemmy didn't need to hear more than that, and so rushed me to his bathroom while being careful not to increase my lack of an equilibrium. He half pulled me to the toilet as my eyes had begun to loll around in my head. The distance from my room to Lemmy's was small, yet tonight it had felt like endless, perpetual streams of darkness and corridor. The journey hadn't been a pleasant one as every little shadow looked like it could have come alive. I jumped at the slightest whistle of the wind and slowly my head had worsened as I progressed. Lemmy opened the lid of the toilet and guided my hands around the circumference.<br>"Here's the toilet, Iggy!" Lemmy exclaimed. He then put his hands gently around my head and guided it to the correct location as well.

I threw up every bit of bile I had in my stomach slowly and painfully; gagging from the effort. Lemmy held my hand while rubbing my back soothingly in a circle with his free hand. After around ten minutes I had finally reached my limit and the gagging stopped. My head felt like it weighed a tenth of what it had when I started and the room was beginning to piece itself back together. Lemmy walked me to the sink and washed my face with a warm cloth. He then filled up a glass of water and held it to my lips for me while I sipped at it like a new-born kitten. After the final dregs of the cup had been drained, he travelled with me towards his bed and helped me to lie down before finally speaking for the first time since I had started throwing up:  
>"You gave me a right good scare there, Iggy." He looked around at me sadly. I smiled weakly in response, before staring at the window. Lemmy followed my gaze, then crossed over to the window and opened it.<br>"Thanks," was all I could manage before passing out on his bed.


	5. Accusations

I awoke in the morning with a grimace. My head was pounding, my throat, raw. I looked around in a daze: I wasn't sure if what had happened last night was in a dream or whether it had actually happened. Distinguishing dreams from reality was becoming difficult, as of late. My eyes found Lemmy curled up beside me as I had been taking up most of the bed. I frowned.  
>"Oh Lemmy ... I'm <em>so<em> sorry," I whispered, cringing at the pain even talking caused. I slowly lowered myself off the bed; after last night I knew moving any quicker than a snails pace was _not_ something I could handle. I half crawled into Lemmy's bathroom; after finding the sink I grabbed the top and forced myself into a standing position. I filled the same glass from the night before with water - grateful that the tap decided to move for me - and sat down on the freezing tile floor. I gulped down the drink before running my hand across my face to clear the drops and attempting to properly stand up. The water had helped my head to clear, and although my throat was persistent: I could deal with a sore throat. I gently padded back out of the bathroom but found Lemmy was now awake. I found even looking at him was too much; when our eyes met and I looked away awkwardly.  
>"Iggy, you're acting as though I should be <em>mad<em>." He sighed, before smiling at me. I travelled to the bed and sat down hesitantly; he shuffled over to me along it and put an arm on my shoulder. "It's not as if it was your fault," He continued, ignoring my refusal to look at him. I turned my head to him slightly, with tears in my eyes. I couldn't really explain why I was so upset, even to myself.  
>"I can't describe how grateful I am," I croaked, trying to perk up. I wiped away the tears and attempted a smile, but my heart didn't seem up to it.<br>"Didn't I tell you just the other day how I will always be here for you?" Lemmy beamed at me and I couldn't help smiling back. We sat talking for a while before I attempted to explain exactly what had happened earlier that morning.

"So ... Your dream came back?"  
>"Yeah."<br>"And you woke up and your room felt like a furnace?"  
>"Basically."<br>"So you found your way out of your room and came here, then I found you: is that about right?"  
>"Yeah. You know the rest ... "<br>"Well, it definitely sounds like you had a panic attack." Lemmy frowned, gazing out of the window. I stared at the floor, waiting for him to continue. "Maybe ... Maybe it would be best, if you stay with me at nights, in my room; that way, I'll be close at hand all the time. It sounds like the journey to my room really finished you off." I didn't need much convincing to stay with Lemmy, I tried to cover my sudden burst of excitement by acting nonchalant.  
>"Yeah, I think you're right." My smile began to show. "Okay, enough. I can't hide it, I've been hoping you would invite me to stay in your room for a very long time."<br>"Why didn't you just ask me? I would have said yes," Lemmy asked with a grin.  
>"I was too shy. Well, that doesn't matter now. I <em>will<em> stay with you, but you have to promise me that if I take up the whole bed again you'll wake me and tell me off."  
>"Deal." With this in mind: I had a spring in my step as we walked back to my room to grab my shell, and then to breakfast together. My happiness, however, was short lived:<p>

"What were you up to last night?" The hoarse, deep toned voice was unmistakable. I cringed in fear.  
>"I wasn't "up to" anything Roy ..." I replied, not looking up from my plate. My knuckles were whitening due to the sudden tightness of which I was holding my knife and fork; my whole body was rigid.<br>"I've asked around about the noises and everyone else claims they have no idea, so either they're lying, it was him over there," He pointed at Lemmy; "Or, it was you: what were you **up to**?" He repeated forcefully. We were at the breakfast table: the worst place to be confronted, as there wasn't much of a possible escape route without drawing the attention of the whole room. Lemmy was currently helping himself to toast down the other end of the table; I was alone and helpless.  
>"I just felt a bit sick and so went out of my room for a bit of air," I replied, trembling slightly. It wasn't a total lie, but I didn't want to explain the whole story, most especially not to Roy: he already thought I was weak enough.<br>"I'd love to believe you, but I don't. You'd better 'fess up or there'll be trou-"  
>"Roy." Lemmy had returned with a plate filled with toast, he was glaring intensely at Roy.<br>"What, have you got something to say? Go ahead. I'm all ears." Roy rounded on Lemmy, contemptuously looking down at him through his sunglasses. Lemmy smiled.  
>"What <em>I<em> have to say may be limited, but if I was to tell Ludwig,_ he_ may have a lot to say on the matter," He replied coolly. Roy staggered slightly: Ludwig - being the oldest - felt he had a duty to stop any provocation in the family and although Roy often attacked me in private, attacking me here would be unwise. He knew better than to anger Ludwig.  
>"You win, for now. I'll bow out, but don't dare to think this is over." The threat echoed around my head.<br>"Iggy? He's gone now." I flinched as I felt a hand touch my shoulder, but when I looked up I saw it was only Lemmy.  
>"Oh ... Yeah," I replied distractedly, Roy's threat still floating around my ears.<br>"I wouldn't worry too much about him: just stay out of his way and you'll be fine," Lemmy added reassuringly. I suddenly didn't feel like eating and so waited for Lemmy to finish his toast before standing up to leave. I suddenly had a lack of balance, however, and began to fall. Lemmy grabbed me and held me steady.  
>"It's okay. Take your time," Lemmy said, helping me to straighten up. I looked around and caught Larry's eye: he was looking at me sympathetically. I half-smiled at him to let him know I would be fine, he gave me a small wave in response before returning his gaze to the table. Lemmy gently took my hand to ensure there wouldn't be any repetition and helped me walk out of the dining hall. We spent the day wandering the different areas of the castle talking. I didn't have nearly as much to say compared to usual but Lemmy ignored this and easily filled in the gaps in the conversation. The two remaining meals of the day were fairly quiet, but I could feel Roy's eyes boring into me at all times. It made me sick to my stomach. Eating was never something I'd had trouble with, but today I found myself almost unable to eat at all.<p>

Later that night, my stomach was still churning, I had already been terrified of Roy, but now the fear was unmitigated. Even with Ludwig as a safety net and Lemmy there for me, Roy was cunning. He would undoubtedly find a way around them; I was a walking target. I lay down on Lemmy's bed, he copied me and lay down, facing me.  
>"Please, stop worrying so much, Iggy: Worrying will only make things worse." I knew that what Lemmy was saying was true, but it didn't help me at all. He ran his hand through my hair as he had done so many times when I was distressed; I began to drop off, but what awaited me in my dreams was far worse than anything I could have experienced while awake.<p> 


	6. Disaster

A flurry of lights were dancing around my eyes; I instantly knew where I was. I stood up and looked around at my surroundings: things had changed. The lights seemed distorted and less predictable in their patterns; several large stretches of the ethereal planes were covered by the blackest of darkness. I shuddered at this revelation. Things had gone from bad to worse. After a moment of adjustment I looked around and as if on cue the harbinger of my potential doom began to walk straight towards me. My thought process was different from the first time as I was now fully aware of what awaited me if I was to follow the shadow; however, the choice was not mine to make. I had no control over my limbs: I could only watch, trapped inside my own body as I followed the shadow against my will. The lights continued to fizzle around me and the darkness became more predominant as we neared our destination. I was almost completely surrounded by a layer of darkness before the shadow had even began to expand. Before I had time to worry about this I was forced to the floor again; pinned down by an intense gravity. Puppet strings lifted my head into position and I got ready to watch the darkness expand. I braced myself for the screaming but the high-pitched, shrill sound I was expecting didn't come. In its stead there was a low, throaty growl. Slowly the growls escalated in volume and clarity: they were morphing into words. I couldn't understand what they were saying initially, but as I strained I began to make something out.  
>"-Knew I'd catch you here! You're in a whole world of trouble." My already frozen body stiffened even further. I knew that voice. It appeared to be coming from the expanding shape of the darkness. "I'm going to teach you a thing or two about-" The voice was cut off by another; this one had a melodic tone to it. One I was used to.<br>"Roy? Roy! What are you doing!?" Upon hearing the voice, I suddenly regained partial control of my body. I forced myself into a standing position and saw that the space was changing once more: white lights were cutting across the horizon in a knife-like fashion, fully eradicating the darkness as they went. I listened to the on-going argument intently.  
>"Go back to bed. I'm just sorting something out."<br>"Roy, don't touch him. He's sleeping! If you engage him anything could- Roy! Stop!" The dream was changing violently now, the lights were continuing their assault on the horizon, but the shadow had fully expanded, openly targeted me and was now advancing. I, on the other hand, could still barely stand and walking was out of the question: no escape.  
>"I said go back to bed; mind your own business."<br>"Iggy _is_ my business. I mean it, you have no idea how unstable he is right now, he can't control his actions in this state. You have to stop- unf." The sound of a connecting blow rang across the area as the higher voice was cut off.  
>"I<em> told<em> you to go back to bed."

Suddenly there was a change in me; I felt a sudden rage. I didn't know why, but I wanted to face up to the darkness. It was now upon me and rather than just surrounding me it seemed to be physically whipping me at different points on my body. Initially there was a lot of pain but as my body filled with rage-fuelled adrenalin I could no longer feel a thing and my movement was restored. I began to flail my arms around to counter, knocking the darkness away and severing the dark limbs it threw at me with my claws as it continued its attempts to whip me. Strange, animalistic noises were being thrown around me in all directions; among them I could faintly make out the melodic voice.  
>"Roy! Please, stop! You have no idea what you're-"<br>"**SHUT UP**!" The barrage of limbs continued their frenzy, more driven than ever. I continued to deflect them but despite my efforts they were beginning to overpower me. Sweat was trickling down my left temple; my right cheek had a small gash where it had been caught. I couldn't give up. I had to fight; I had to _win_. A limb swung down with great force directly towards my face.  
>"Roy! No!" The voice pleaded. The limb continued, gathering speed: I felt as though if this limb hit me it would be the end of me, so with one final effort I raked my arm horizontally with all the force I could muster in a wild attempt to intercept. The whole area seemed to freeze slightly before the arm was cut and fell to the ground, writhing for a few seconds before going still. Suddenly, the whole area began to crack. I felt a rumble below my feet and was sent tumbling to the ground. The walls that had until now been translucent became fully visible as they crashed around me; the floor came out from beneath me: I was falling, through the darkness; I continued to fall for a lifetime. In the distance below me I began to see a bright light; it was getting closer. It was-<p>

I opened my eyes in confusion.  
>"W-what...?" I put my hand on my head as the pain hit me; I felt a hot sticky liquid running down my right cheek, the smell of metallic copper instantly filled my nostrils. I placed my hand on the source of the liquid and winced at the pain it caused: I was bleeding, from my cheek? That made no sense, how could my cheek be cut even after I'd woken up? I looked at my hands and claws and saw there was a lot of blood on both of them. This was even more confusing to me, where was all this blood coming from? My question was answered when I looked down and gasped in horror. Roy was staring up at me lifelessly, his sunglasses, askew. He had claw marks on several parts of his body. The claw mark that stuck out, however, was the one that ran across the full length of his throat. I sank to the ground and began retching violently.<br>"Iggy ... ?" The melodic voice rang out; I stopped retching almost immediately and looked up. Lemmy was making his way towards me: a bit of blood was running from his nose and his right eye looked as if it was beginning to blacken.  
>"D-did I do this to you!?" I shouted, hysterically.<br>"No ... No: it was Roy," He said dismissively. He seemed so calm.  
>"What happened? Please, I was in your room! How did I get here, why is Roy d-!"<br>"Iggy ... Please. Calm down," Lemmy cut me off.  
>"Calm down!? Roy is de- mmf!" My speech was muffled as Lemmy put his arms around me, ignoring the blood that covered my body; I began to cry into his chest. "I can't believe this has happened," I moaned.<br>"Shh, everything is going to be okay. Not a single bit of this is your fault."  
>Lemmy then explained everything that had happened: from him waking up and finding I was not there, to finding Roy threatening me, until the present moment.<br>"You had no idea what was going on, how could you? You were asleep. Roy should have known better than to have attacked a sleep walking Dragon Koopa. I tried to stop him, and this is the result." He gestured to his nose and eye.  
>"B-but ... I killed him!" I whined solemnly.<br>"Iggy, I seriously think that no matter what the outcome would have ended up, one of you would have ended up dead. Roy was serious; he had a crazed look in his eye." I looked at Roy's limp form and tears began flooding my eyes again.  
>"I ... I had the dream again, although it was different." I explained exactly what I had seen in my dream and how I had fought the darkness in the end. Lemmy listened with a deep look in his eye; after I had finished he spent some time thinking before staring directly into my eyes.<br>"I think ... It's possible that the dream was a representation of what was happening around you. The darkness ... It reflected Roy, the light reflected myself. You fought the darkness and won, or in other words you ... Put an end to Roy," He finished with a grave expression. "We're ... Going to have to explain this to _him_." My eyes widened in fear, I hadn't even considered the King. "It's alright," Lemmy continued, having noticed my terrified expression. "I'll be there with you, you don't have to explain anything: I'll do it for you. It's time I told Bowser what Roy has been up to for a very long time." Lemmy didn't seem to have the slightest amount of sympathy for Roy, if anything he seemed glad that he was dead.  
>"Lemmy ... ? Aren't you sad about Roy being ... You know?" I asked hesitantly.<br>"Of course I am: he was our brother; however, I can't possibly forgive him for what he has done in the past, and eventually driven you to." I nodded. I didn't really understand the latter part of the statement, but it was clear Lemmy had been angry with Roy for a long time. I had a sudden thought:  
>"Shouldn't we wait until morning? It's really late, is it not?"<br>"No, we need to do this now. I want to remember every detail. Don't be worried about waking anyone up, because I'm sure the whole castle will have heard us. I'm surprised no one else came to check what was happening," Lemmy replied. He beckoned to me and grabbed my hand. "Just remember, I'll always be there for you," He re-stated; "I'm going to fix this."

We arrived shortly after at Bowser's chambers. I took a moment to compose myself before signalling with my hand that I was ready to Lemmy, who knocked sharply on the door. A gruff, tired voice replied:  
>"Is it important?"<br>"Very," Lemmy replied in a serious tone. Without waiting for a reply, he pushed the door open and walked into the room with me in tow.  
>"Perhaps you are here to explain the noise?" Bowser was sitting at a large desk with his head in his hands.<br>"I am indeed, this is a long story; you're not going to like it either, I'll tell you that now. I'm going to have to ask that you leave your questions until the end." I'd never seen Lemmy so serious, usually he was happy-go-lucky but right now he was as stern as I'd ever seen him. The King looked slightly mystified at being addressed in such a manner, especially by Lemmy. He lifted his head out of his hands as to pay full attention and gasped at the state of us, he looked as though he was about to ask why I was covered in blood, but thought better of it. Lemmy explained the full situation from the very start without missing a beat. I was awe-struck by the prowess of which he worded the whole thing. He made sure to throw every bit of blame on Roy, and not a single bit at myself. I had to fight to keep a straight-face through the whole thing as I was so moved by his resolve to save me from Bowser's wrath.

Bowser respectfully listened to the full story without speaking, although it was possible to tell how shocked he was by his facial expressions. But when Lemmy was finally finished his expression was hard to decipher.  
>"Roy ... Dead?" He asked, rubbing his ears as though he had heard wrong.<br>"Yes. I told you it wasn't going to be a fairy-tale," Lemmy replied shortly. "He has terrorized Iggy for a very long time; tonight he picked a fight he couldn't win, and he suffered for it." Bowser sat silently for what seemed an age before standing up and looking straight at me.  
>"Is all of this true, Iggy?" I nodded weakly in response, "Then how am I to be assured you won't kill any other children of mine?" The question knocked me completely off-guard as I had no answer. Lemmy, however, spoke up almost immediately:<br>"He won't for numerous reasons. For a start: none of our other siblings randomly attack him for personal amusement; none of them want to start a fight with Iggy in general. Also, I personally feel Iggy's sleep walking days are over." I blinked, was this what he meant by what Roy had driven me to? "In my opinion, it was Roy's fault that Iggy began to have these dreams in the first place. As I explained, Iggy's dream was directly linked to the situation around him and Roy represented the darkness," Lemmy continued. I could have hugged him right there and then: I hadn't thought about this fact, but now he had spoken of it, it made total sense. "All of the turmoil Iggy has been through with Roy lead to him being too scared to go anywhere without me. Surely that kind of fear could lead to the symptoms I've described to you?" Lemmy finished, glaring with the burning intensity of a forest fire directly into Bowser's eyes. Each of them held their ground; the tension was almost palpable. I looked between them anxiously; Bowser finally sighed and replied:  
>"Alright. I'm going to believe you, as you have never given me a reason not to. Should another incident happen such as this in the future, however, you will receive full responsibility for Iggy's actions, Lemmy. Remember that. I shall have my staff ... Deal with Roy's body as soon as I can. I shall also arrange a funeral within the next few weeks which I expect each of you to attend. Don't worry yourself with explaining the situation to your siblings, I shall do so myself," Bowser finished, sounding older than ever. He then signalled it was time for us to leave, which was lucky for me as I could barely contain myself.<p>

We walked in silence back to Lemmy's room; once safely inside I grabbed Lemmy pulled him into a hug.  
>"Lemmy, that was amazing! I can't believe it, you were amazing. Simply amazing!" I excitedly rambled for a while about how adept Lemmy had been in his speech skills. He was delighted by the situation, and amused by my reaction.<br>"Something just came over me, Iggy, I couldn't let you be thrown out the castle or worse on Roy's account." He smiled at me and I grinned back at him, I was the most happy I had been in years. I still felt twinges of guilt at the thought of having killed Roy, but he had forced me to it and he was gone: I had nothing to worry about anymore.  
>"He's gone Lemmy ... He's actually gone," I exclaimed, with tears in my eyes. For the first time in a long time: the tears were induced by happiness.<br>"I know Iggy. Things are only going to get better from here on out."


	7. The New World

_**Chapter Two: Ever Changing World.**_

I stumbled in the artificial darkness over the rough ground.  
>"Lemmy... R-really, how much further is it? My feet are getting caught!" I moaned.<br>"Not ... Much further now ... Come on!" Lemmy replied in a husky voice, pulling me along. Lemmy had decided he wanted to show me something special he had discovered while on a walk. He decided that for it to have the full effect I would need to be blind-folded and so was leading me over the rough terrain of Dark Land. But suddenly the ground I was used to changed under my feet. It was no longer uneven, jagged stone, but instead it was-  
>"Lemmy, is this ... Grass?"<br>"Take it off Iggy! Quick!" Lemmy shouted excitedly. I untied my blind-fold and let it fall into my hands. I looked at the scene in front of me and almost fell over. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I could hear Lemmy laughing at my reaction.  
>"What ... What is this? How is this here?" I asked with widened eyes.<br>Lush acres of green stretched for miles, with trees of all different types spread out in the flowing fields. The sun was poking out behind a fluffy cloud in the distance casting a brilliant, ambient light across the landscape. The short grass was still wet with morning dew creating a sparkling aura. A light breeze was gently blowing through the area; bringing with it the smell of the flora that was spread across the hills in the distance. My mouth watered at the sweetness that was wafting around my nostrils. Upon looking up I saw that the grey clouds that hung like a shadow over Dark Land had been fully replaced with white cotton candy. I looked behind me at the state of Dark Land and saw it looked no different. Upon further inspection, I noticed it was as if the two regions had merged together, the difference in biome was so sudden. The smell of sulphur began to find its way back into my nose, so I turned around once more, scrunching up my face. I stared at the grass; it seemed almost too green. It was as if I was looking at one of the paintings that lined the halls of the Castle.  
>"I'm not really sure honestly, I just came up this hill and here it was," Lemmy replied, snapping me back to reality. He laughed even more at my now gaping mouth.<br>"Surely we would have found this when we were younger!?" I exclaimed with a perplexed expression.  
>"See, that's the thing. I don't think we would have. I can roughly remember reading something at some point which claimed the state of the world can change almost over night. I reckon it's possible this has just ... Popped up, so to speak." I cocked my head considering this, it seemed unrealistic but I had nothing to argue against it. My siblings and I hadn't been to many places outside Dark Land for extended periods of time: just short time-slots under the King's orders. I shrugged and grinned at him.<br>"What a lucky find Lemmy, this is brilliant!"

It had been a couple of months since Roy's funeral. My life had gotten a lot better since the ordeal had ended. I had started to build up self-confidence, which Lemmy was helping me with. I was no longer scared to be alone in the Castle: Lemmy and I had decided to move into the same room together after it was all over, nonetheless, considering if I ever needed Lemmy, he was close-by. I had stopped having the horrific dreams as Lemmy had predicted and found myself growing happier by the day. Some of my siblings were on edge around me, however, and this bothered me slightly. Larry - being cunning and intelligent - had quickly learned that I was no threat and had warmed to me slightly over Roy's demise. I may have been Roy's main target, but no one had liked him much anyway; Larry was about as glad as I was to see him gone. Ludwig also understood the situation and so was indifferent. Bowser Junior was seemingly too young to fully understand what had happened. Wendy and Morton, however, had taken to flinching whenever I entered a room, in general. Lemmy assured me that as time passed they would get over it and that I should attempt to ignore it. It didn't bother me too much if I was honest: I had never really paid attention to their mannerisms in the first place; I rarely noticed their responses to my existence; however, today was one of the days I had noticed. As I had entered the mess hall with Lemmy for breakfast Wendy had let out a pretentious squeal and ran from the room after she caught sight of me. It was a terrible scream, and although over-dramatic, there was genuine fear in it. I only managed to get half of the way through my breakfast before I began to tear up. Lemmy noticed almost instantly and - forgetting about his own breakfast - escorted me back to our room.  
>"Look, there's not much I can say Iggy. She's an attention-seeking, teenage girl among boys; she's not exactly very bright either I might add, it's not to be unexpected," Lemmy said exasperatedly. "But, I do know exactly how to cheer you up. Let me just find ... Here it is," He picked up the blindfold, "Let's go!" Lemmy had then led me to the edge of the castle grounds before helping me put on the blindfold and leading me over the unforgiving terrain.<p>

"Come on Iggy, this wasn't all I wanted to show you - further in!" Lemmy took my hand and began bounding forward. Although his strides were much smaller than my own, that didn't stop him managing to half-pull me along: He had so much energy. The sudden change in lighting was hard to adjust to right away. It was so grey in Dark Land; here it was almost too bright and due to the droplets reflecting every bit of light it was increased up to a level that was almost blinding. I was reminded of the dreams I had experienced just months ago and had to force these thoughts to the back of my mind as we continued further into the damp; sparkling fields. Lemmy turned and raised his eyebrows at me, sensing my sudden change in body language.  
>"Just an unwanted flash-back," I said, chuckling awkwardly. Lemmy understood immediately and nodded at me:<br>"It's strange how things can connect like that. Are you okay with being here?" I nodded vigorously. In truth I loved it here, leaving would surely be a mistake. "Alright. Well, it's getting close. See that little valley down there?" He pointed and I followed his finger before nodding. "It's just passed there, the valley has a stream with healthy water so we can stop for a minute if you need to," Lemmy finished happily before continuing to drag me through the grass. After a short amount of time we arrived at the valley and as Lemmy had said, there was a crystal-clear flowing stream with ice-cold water. I took a well-deserved drink after being pulled over a mile. Lemmy didn't look even slightly out of breath but did take a drink. I gratefully splashed some water over my face before signalling to Lemmy that I was ready to continue.  
>"Wait until you see where the stream leads!" Lemmy said, grinning. We followed the stream down the narrowing valley until we found a relatively large tunnel in which the water had broadened slightly, sweeping down: It wasn't unlike a slide.<br>"There are two ways we can go: We can go up and over this hill here," Lemmy pointed up to the steep hill above us. "Or, we can go down this tunnel!" He finished, grinning at me with a gleam in his eye. I already knew what he wanted to do. I grinned back.  
>"Alright then. Let's go!" I exclaimed before grabbing Lemmy and jumping down into the tunnel.<p> 


	8. The Pool

For a few moments, everything went completely black. Lemmy and I were laughing all the way down and due to the dimensions of the tunnel; the sound was magnified. We were at fever pitch as the laughter rebounded around us. A bright light shone ahead, indicating the exit: I felt my heart lurch as we fell ten feet and landed in a deep, moderately warm pool. Upon breaking the water's surface once more I threw my head back, swallowing the beautifully fresh air. Lemmy had decided to swim around near the bottom for a moment before doing the same. We looked at each other and giggled once more.  
>"You gave me a fright, that was so sudden!" Lemmy laughed, attempting a fake-look of annoyance but only successfully making himself laugh even more.<br>"I'm not sorry," I retorted with a sly look on my face. "That was so _fun_!" I looked around us and was shocked once again by just how beautiful this place was. The edge of the pool was lined with slightly browned sand, there were different types of trees, most looked tropical and had fruit ripe and ready for picking. We were surrounded in a full circle by a light green hue being emanated from the leaves of the trees. The pond was covered in a thin layer of shade, but the sun was poking through certain gaps in the leaves creating rays of brilliant light. The pool was around 30 metres in diameter: The water was all gathering at one of the edges before travelling through rocks - that created a small waterfall - and perpetually flowing down a snaking stream that stretched its body further into the forest. There was no detectable current to the pool, however. Therefore it was easy to relax without having to worry about being swept into the rocks. In the opposite corner of the pool, there was a gathering of lily pads that bobbed up and down curiously on the water's surface; creating an almost everlasting ripple-effect as Lemmy propelled himself through the water. I motioned at the sand, swam towards it and removed my shell. Lemmy copied me before diving back in.

I found a good spot and lay on my back, floating through the water and staring up into the gaps in the trees, basking in the small amount of sun rays that were finding their way to and warming my body. One thing that bothered me slightly about this place was the lack of animals. In fact, I hadn't seen or heard a single creature since we had arrived. I dismissed this fact quickly, however, as everything else was too perfect for me to care about a matter so trivial. I jerked slightly as Lemmy put his hands on top of my stomach. I lifted my head and saw him playfully smiling at me. While holding on, he pulled his body on to my own and began to lie on top of me. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help grinning. I didn't protest as I found it too hard to say no to Lemmy.  
>"Oh - you picked the best spot Iggy ..." Lemmy remarked, sighing contentedly. "You're so comfy!" I burst into fits of laughter and found my body had sank slightly in response.<br>"Lemmy! Don't make me laugh, my body can't float for both of us while I laugh!" I exclaimed, failing to contain my uncontrollable laughter.  
>"The ship is sinking!? What should I do!?" Lemmy shouted. He began paddling us both towards the sand. I felt water enter my mouth as I thrashed about laughing; my body ended up fully submerged. Lemmy gracefully slid off of me and began smoothly gliding along the surface above me. I floated back out of the water, still laughing and spluttering. Lemmy swam over and gently patted my back.<br>"I'm not sorry," He said, repeating the words I had used earlier. I grinned and splashed him with water. The next few minutes consisted of us throwing water in all directions; each of us attempting to gain the upper hand.  
>"Okay, okay! You win!" Lemmy said, covering his face. "Your arms are so much longer than mine!" I smiled and lay on my back again: I almost instantly felt hands on my stomach. "I'll be good this time." My smile widened as Lemmy pulled himself back on top of me.<p>

We serenely floated in the pool for a long time without saying or even doing anything. After a while I decided to break the silence:  
>"It's so ... Peaceful here. While we were wandering at home you could feel the hustle and bustle of the Castle. But here - there's nothing ... Just peace: we should come here as often as possible."<br>"Yeah ..." Lemmy replied thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed than I do right now." A few more minutes passed by before I asked:  
>"Fancy getting out now? The fruit looks incredible." Lemmy slid off of me carefully in response and began to make his way to the sand. I followed him. My body felt so sluggish that it was a struggle to adjust to walking. I stretched towards the sky, letting my body re-engage.<br>"What fruit would you like?" Lemmy asked. I scanned the area and found a particularly small tree bearing bananas. I knew for a fact Lemmy especially loved bananas. I casually wandered over to the tree and - stretching my arms as far as they could go - grabbed a bunch of its bananas: they were surprisingly easy to pull off of the tree. I turned back to Lemmy and grinned, holding up the four bananas that made up the bunch. Lemmy licked his lips. I heard my stomach growl slightly.  
>"You didn't eat much at all this morning, did you Lemmy?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.<br>"One slice of toast: I'm starving," Lemmy replied continuing to stare at the bananas. I found my way to one of the trees and sat down with my back to it. I patted the ground beside me invitingly and Lemmy did the same. By this point the sun was beginning to go down. It was now behind us and illuminating the area with a faint, orange glow. I broke the bananas into two groups and handed Lemmy his half.  
>"Thanks!" He said, gratefully peeling the first one before digging in. I followed his example and sank my teeth into the first banana's tender flesh. The taste was so wonderful it was almost overwhelming. I looked over at Lemmy who almost looked like he was about to cry from happiness.<br>"This is ... This is so good!" He stated, after swallowing the first bite: We had never tried fruit that was freshly ripe from a tree. I grinned in response and continued to eat my banana. They were surprisingly filling and I felt fully content that I had ate enough after finishing. Lemmy looked like he could have eaten another ten, so I picked him another one from a low hanging bunch. By this point the sun had almost fully disappeared, and it was getting dark. Both of us were completely full of food and unwilling to move. As I was about to ask Lemmy if he wanted to start heading back he lay his head on my lap and promptly fell asleep.  
>"Looks like we're not heading back tonight then," I whispered with a small smile. I adjusted my position for sleep and my vision quickly began to fade.<p> 


	9. Exposure

I opened my eyes slowly. Lemmy still had his head on my lap. I smiled down at him. But when I lifted my eyes from his sleeping form my smile abruptly faded: something was different about the area we were in. The whole place had changed for that matter. It was no longer a lightly forested area with flowing sun rays. It was a dense, damp jungle with large, thick trunked trees that created a number of eerie, jagged shadows and although I was sure it was morning; it was fairly dark.  
>"Lemmy ... Lemmy, wake up." I shook his shoulders gently.<br>"Mm?" He looked up at me with one eye.  
>"We've slept through the whole night and you might want to take a look at ... Well I don't really know what<em> this<em> is," I said in a serious tone. Lemmy lazily sat up and rubbed his eyes; attempting to properly wake up. After taking his hands away his body stiffened at the scene in front of us.  
>"Well ... This is, something." He turned and smiled at me.<br>"Yeah, it's definitely something. What do you think has happened?" I asked. Lemmy frowned, surveying the area.  
>"We can't have been moved ... No. We're in the same place."<br>"What makes you say that?"  
>"Look at the area closely. The pool of water - it's in the same place, and the same size. Just over there: that's the area you got the bananas from." I looked around carefully, Lemmy was right. We <em>were<em> in the same place, it just looked as though it had overgrown in the night; the tropical trees had also been replaced with large, vine covered ones. The pool water was no longer fresh and flowing, but stagnant and forlorn.  
>"So ... What then?" I asked, a crease forming on my forehead.<br>"Remember what I said ... The state of the World can change almost over night? Maybe that has happened around us."  
>"But ... If this area has changed - why has Dark Land always remained the same?" I asked, a bemused frown creeping into my features.<br>"Perhaps certain regions of the world are unaffected by these cataclysmic changes? The Mushroom Kingdom has - to my knowledge - always remained the same as well, in that respect," Lemmy replied, looking around us once more.  
>"That's ... Possible, I suppose." I couldn't think of any other explanation; it made sense. But I suddenly had a thought: "Wait! Lemmy, can you remember what this book was called by any chance?"<br>"I'm not sure ... I think it was called ..." Lemmy closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. After a moment he hesitantly said, "The Magic Paintbrush ... Yeah, that was it!" Realisation of what he had just named suddenly dawned on his face. "I-Iggy ... You don't think?" I nodded slowly.  
>"I felt like that may have been the case from the start." Lemmy's eyes widened.<br>"That would definitely explain how this is happening and yet no other regions have changed - the book was stating how the paintbrush could manipulate any area the wielder chooses! So ... That being the case: everything will be erratic in its behaviour here; we may find things that don't belong in this particular setting as well, depending on who has the brush." I narrowed my eyes slightly.  
>"Isn't it sealed away within the Castle though? Could someone have stolen it?" I asked, staring nervously at Lemmy.<br>"I'm really not sure, but no matter what the case, we should leave this place as quickly as possible." He stood up and looked in the direction of the entrance to the pool; - which was no longer sand, but mud instead - he then let out a sigh of relief.  
>"At least our shells are still here."<br>"Oh! Yeah, I totally forgot about them!" I replied, slightly embarrassed. Lemmy put his own on before delivering mine to me. I thanked him and fitted it around my body. He then began to walk in the direction we had originally come from.  
>"Wait, Lemmy ... Listen. Do you hear that? When we were here yesterday it seemed so quiet: almost too quiet. I didn't hear or see a single bird. Now it sounds as if the whole place is alive!" I stood up, listening to the primal uproar that seemed to be going on around us. "I think we should make sure we're ready for anything. Do you have your wand?" I asked anxiously, producing my own wand out of my shell.<br>"Yes ... I think. Wait, let me just ... Here it is." Lemmy mimicked me and grabbed his own wand. I smiled at him.  
>"Then we should be fine. Do you remember how to use it? It's been a long time."<br>"When the time comes, I think it will come flooding back to me," Lemmy replied gravely.  
>"You mean if: I really hope we don't have to use these," I replied, looking at my wand as though it might bite me. We hadn't been in a situation that could be considered dangerous enough that we would need our wands since battling the Mario brothers. Lemmy and I were each adept at fighting in general due to our speed. Lemmy was faster than myself but what I lacked in speed, I covered with power. A large roar on our right snapped me back to reality. "Let's hope we can avoid whatever just made that noise: it sounds hungry," I finished with a fearful expression. The reality of the danger we were in was finally beginning to dawn on me.<br>"Iggy, I don't think there's any one thing we really need to be scared of in this forest, as long as we're together," Lemmy remarked, smiling optimistically.  
>"I hope you're right." I half-smiled back. "So ... Do you have any inclination as to which way we should go?"<br>"Well ... It's only a mile or so to the border discounting the fact that the lay-out may have changed. This forest is suddenly really thick though. So I think the best thing to do would be to find a high vantage point, from which we can see Dark Land. It shouldn't be too hard to spot: it's not exactly going to be teeming with trees; speaking of trees, I don't think we should attempt to climb them, I doubt they would hold even my weight." Lemmy made his way towards one of the nearest trees and pulled at one of its lower branches. The branch came off in his hands with no effort. "Yeah, like I said. They're way too brittle." He beckoned to me with his hand and so I began to follow him up to the top of the steep hill we had chosen not to climb the day before. Once we had reached the top we both looked around, but unfortunately we were just below the tree line and so nothing was fully visible.  
>"Okay, keep an eye out for a bigger hill than this one." Lemmy said, re-scanning the area. I did the same, looking out into the distance carefully. There was seemingly only one hill available and it was much further into the woods depths. I got Lemmy's attention and pointed at it. He sighed: "Typical, I was really hoping it would be in the exact opposite direction."<br>"I know, but it appears to be the only hill large enough to see where we're going and at least it's not in the direction of that roar."  
>"We could try just walking in the general direction of Dark Land?"<br>"I'd rather not risk getting lost in here of all places... Do you think it's worth it? We don't even know if the whole forest has remained the same in terms of lay-out."  
>" ... If I had to guess, I'd say the lay-out will be the same, but maybe not ... Alright, let's just find that hill, it looks like there's a relatively clear path in its direction." With that said we began to walk along the edge of the valley that we had walked through the day before, I looked down into it and noticed there was no longer a stream, wet moss now covered the ground as well as many small trees giving off a faint smell of pine-needles.<br>"This is just ... So weird," I stated. Lemmy followed my gaze.  
>"It is a little bit much to take in. Let's just get out of here as quickly as we can." I nodded in agreement and followed Lemmy as he turned right and began to make a start towards the hill.<p>

After around an hour of walking in silence, - having managed to avoid any of the local wildlife - we reached a circular clearing. I looked up at where the trees parted and could see dark, grey clouds lingering sadly over the jungle - the sun was as lost as we were. The cries of the wildlife through-out the forest all seemed to find their way to this location, mixing and grinding together; forming a discordant symphony. I grimaced at how loud it was and noticed Lemmy didn't look comfortable either. Towards the back of the area was the foot of the hill we were seeking. The clearing wasn't completely empty, however. I stared at the creature that was standing in a guard-like position at the base of the hill. I had never seen one outside of paintings before, this wasn't exactly the type of creature you would expect find in the Mushroom Kingdom, or Dark Land for that matter. Its fur bristled slightly at our approach and it turned around to face us with its teeth bared. I turned to Lemmy, his expression was hard to read, he was clutching his wand tightly to his chest. I leaned in close so he could hear me.  
>"Lemmy ... I think that's a wolf."<p> 


	10. The Clearing

"A wolf?" Lemmy turned to face me. "I thought they only travelled in packs ..."  
>"They do, I think. But look at how it's standing, I think this is its territory. There might be more. Should we turn back?" Lemmy stared at me for a while, considering this:<br>"... I think, after the amount of time we spent getting here we should get to the top of that hill." His expression softened; "Maybe we can edge around the clearing and go around the back or something?" I nodded and began to turn back to the wolf. In a split-second I processed the fact the wolf had become hostile and was running straight at Lemmy. With a thud of connecting bodies the wolf dug its front claws into Lemmy's chest and they both fell towards the floor. Without any conscious thought I had already begun to rake my own claws in an upward fashion; they connected with the wolf's throat. A sickening slash sounded before the wolf fell limply side-ways off of Lemmy, who hit the ground, grimacing soundlessly at the cuts on his chest. Blood had begun to drip slightly from them.  
>"Are you alright!?" I exclaimed, falling to my knees beside him.<br>"I'm fine, just ... Had the wind knocked out of me. These cuts are tiny: it barely had the chance to do anything, your reaction time was fantastic." He smiled, but as I helped him to stand up he winced at the pain.  
>"Do you want me to carry you?" I asked anxiously.<br>"Don't _worry_, I'm fine. These cuts will be gone by tomorrow." He grinned at me, and I felt my heart rate begin to slow. We both stared down at the dead wolf, its blood was beginning to paint a small portion of the ground with crimson. We were brought back to reality, however, by a new sound. We turned and faced the area around the hill, from which multiple howls were drawing nearer, growing in volume - partially drowning out the other noises that were booming around the clearing.  
>"Here comes the real threat," Lemmy said coolly. "Okay, take my hand and trust me." I did as he asked and grabbed his hand: I had a feeling I knew what he was planning. Suddenly, I felt as though a balloon was being inflated below my feet, Lemmy was using his wand to conjure a large ball. It must have had a good four foot radius. I struggled to adjust to the ball and almost lost my balance, but Lemmy held me steady, I looked at him and he smiled.<br>"Show time," He chirped. The wolves came at us from different angles; in a semi-circular formation - six of them. They seemed to be lined up in height order from the tallest to the smallest. Lemmy's conjured balls were indestructible to any force so their teeth and claws would be useless here. The only potential problem would be keeping my balance, but Lemmy had a firm grip on my hand. "Just hold on, I won't let you fall, but I'll need you to deal with the offensive side of things." I nodded and began to wave my wand in peculiar patterns; green wisps shot out of the end in an arc. As they connected with the wolves, they were knocked backwards towards the hill three at a time, but they seemed too enraged to care. They continued their assault in waves, throwing their bodies relentlessly into the ball; attempting to knock us over. Lemmy did an excellent job of distributing both of our weights evenly and causing the wolves attempts to be rendered useless. This continued for a while, but the wolves didn't seem to want to give up: the more my wisps hit them, the more aggressively driven they became.  
>"This ... Is ridiculous," Lemmy panted. "I'm not sure how long I can keep this up." I shuddered at this statement, throwing another barrage of wisps at the three closest wolves. There must have been something we could do, but I couldn't think of anything. Just as I began to lose hope: a familiar roar sounded, not too far behind us. Suddenly all sounds that had been finding their way to the clearing were cut off abruptly. The whole place was frozen into a state of silence. The only things left breaking the silence were the trees, who continued their dance in the wind. The wolves frenzy ended as quickly as it had started and they ran away, yelping with their tails in between their legs. I looked at Lemmy in disbelief.<br>"I didn't think anything would stop them, I suppose we should thank our large sounding friend." Lemmy laughed, but he sounded exhausted.  
>"In all seriousness, we need to move Iggy, that thing could be heading in this direction. Hold on." The ball began to lose mass and after a short period of me nearly toppling over, the ball was gone. "Let's move, we may as well paint a target on our heads standing in this clearing." He grabbed my hand and we moved as one towards the trees. We took refuge under the shelter of a large bush. When I looked at his chest, I noticed it had already practically healed.<br>"When you said they'd be gone by tomorrow, you really meant it!" I gasped, motioning towards his now barely visible cuts. He beamed at me.  
>"I've not had that much fun in a long time, I forgot how exhilarating it is to balance on a ball that large!"<br>"You were brilliant Lemmy, the fact you managed to keep me balanced with you was crazy; I felt so safe with you holding my hand." I grinned at him and his smile widened. "So, about the wolves ... Don't you think that was strange? I never expected to find wolves of all things in here." Lemmy nodded.  
>"Yeah, it's like I said, there are things in this jungle that simply do not belong in the area. It all depends on the person who is in possession of the brush ... Come to think of it, doesn't Junior have some sort of obsession with wolves?" I blinked, cocking my head to the side. I spent a moment thinking before being hit with a flash-back:<br>"Yes ... I remember one morning he was showing everyone a picture of one at breakfast saying how it looked amazing. He went on and on about it, in fact." Lemmy nodded in agreement.  
>"Is it possible ... That Junior somehow got a hold of the Magic Paintbrush?"<br>"He has always enjoyed art ... It adds up."  
>"Bowser will be far too busy doing his <em>important work<em>, to have taken any notice I suppose." I let out a laugh, nodding.  
>"He <em>is<em> always _busy_."

After a few more minutes of waiting in our refuge we both agreed that the large creature may have gone the other way.  
>"Perhaps it went around the clearing in pursuit of the wolves. They made a lot of noise as they dispersed," I pointed out. Lemmy nodded in agreement and stood up, offering me his hand to help me do the same.<br>"We should be able to avoid that thing as long as we keep listening. It seems to announce itself before going anywhere, using its roars to our advantage will hopefully mean we don't even have to see what it is before getting out of here." I grinned, nodding towards the edge of the clearing. We got as close as we could to the foot of the hill, walking around the perimeter of the clearing before daring to make a start on getting to the top. All of our effort seemed to have paid off as this hill rose above and beyond the tree line. We reached the top of the hill in a matter of minutes and took a small break at the top - sitting on the relatively flat summit - before looking around from our newly established vista. Off in the distance I thought I could actually see one of Castle's higher towers. I notified Lemmy and he sighed happily.  
>"At least now we know we're not in some remote location. That's the direction we have to go in then, since Dark Land is so huge as long as we don't go off on a tangent we will be able to find our way easily."<br>"Yeah, home! I never thought I'd actually appreciate it, but this experience has made me, that's for sure," I stated. Lemmy cocked his head to the side.  
>"You know, I hadn't thought about that. If anything this has been a purely good experience in many ways!" He smiled at me before taking my hand, "Let's get going!" We marched down the hill together with a second wind. Home was just around the corner.<p> 


	11. Unexpected Turn of Events

After finding our way back out of the clearing, some of the cries began to sound once more. They were hesitant to begin with, - checking to see whether or not it was safe - before rising back up to a chorus of unrest. Lemmy and I had stood listening intently just outside the clearing.  
>"They're really scared of that beast. I wonder what it could be?" Lemmy asked, looking at me to see if I had any ideas. I shrugged before replying.<br>"We could always find out?" Lemmy grinned, the gleam I had seen the day before returning to his eyes.  
>"It seems slightly ironic that we would track it down after working so hard to avoid it ..." I laughed and shrugged once again. "But, curiosity is getting the better of me. Let's go find it, Iggy."<br>"Okay, I actually really want to see what it is myself. You did say we would have nothing to worry about; I'm sure we can handle it." Lemmy nodded encouragingly. "But, how will we find it?" He considered this for a moment before taking my hand.  
>"Let's go." He then began swiftly moving through the trees while I followed, keeping a tight grip on his hand. I knew Lemmy would know what he was doing and so didn't ask where we were going, but he answered my unspoken question anyway: "This ... Is around the area the roar came from ..." After another minute of weaving in and out of trees we found a manually carved path in which smaller trees had been broken and left sprawled over the ground. "Not exactly subtle," He said, laughing. The path stretched out as far as we could see, further in.<br>"By the looks of this path, it's as big as I thought. It's also going in the direction opposite to where we need to be going. Are you sure Lemmy?" Lemmy looked at me, his eyes growing slightly in size.  
>"If we don't find it now, the chances are we won't see it at all!" His face was unbearably cute. "Look at the path Iggy," He pointed in the direction the beast was moving in and I relished the fact that I could have even the smallest of breaks from his charm. "It's moving in a straight line. It's only got five or ten minutes on us and I reckon it's slow. We shouldn't have a problem finding our way back!" He grinned again and I buckled.<br>"Okay, fine. Just remember, if it spots us we'll need to be ready to defend ourselves, as I seriously doubt it's friendly judging from the whole jungles reaction to its roars." Lemmy nodded in understanding and took my hand again.  
>"Let's go find us a ... Thing!" He exclaimed as we set off at a brisk pace; laughing as we went.<p>

After another hour of walking we finally saw something in the distance. I lifted Lemmy up to see if he could get a good view of it.  
>"I can't really see a thing Iggy ... The visibility is terrible." I sighed and put him back down beside me again.<br>"Then we'll just have to get closer." I continued to watch the beast: it was huge, but seemed to have a round body shape - its whole body was like a ball of sorts. It also seemed to have stopped moving. "It looks like it's just standing there ..." I continued, frowning.  
>"I won't pretend I know what's going through its head. But we can use this to get closer without having more distance to cover!" Lemmy replied, excitement finding its way back into his voice.<br>We continued to move in the direction of the beast. As we got closer I began to recognise some more of its specific features; after straining my eyes, I realised that it didn't seem to be a beast at all. It looked mechanical. I shared my thoughts with Lemmy.  
>"A giant robot in a damp jungle ..." Lemmy mumbled before laughing. "I wonder how that's working out for it."<br>Another minute of walking and we were within range; we could see everything. Lemmy and I gasped simultaneously:  
>"Is that ...?" I asked, my mouth agape.<br>"It is! It's Junior!" Lemmy exclaimed.  
>The mechanical Junior turned at the sound of our voices. It looked exactly like Bowser's heir: orange ponytail, a shell that matched the King's, metal cuffs on its wrists, it even had the same spiky toothed bib hanging around its neck. Its eyes were small, greedy, round black dots with white pupils that were focussed on both of us. It seemed to be strangely unaffected by the climate it was in.<br>"Well ... That clears up who has the brush," I said, laughing softly.  
>"Junior created a large, mechanical version of himself? I don't know whether that's cute or terrifying," Lemmy replied with a smile.<br>"Both," I answered. The roar rang through the forest like a bell once more. "Be prepared," I exclaimed, standing at the ready. The giant robot began to charge towards us, but as Lemmy had predicted: it was relatively slow. I flourished my wand and sent my signature wisps flying in the robots path. I felt a sudden heat and saw a fireball travelling from Lemmy's mouth, in the same direction. The four blasts connected with the Mecha-Junior's head together, causing it to stumble slightly, but It didn't look phased: we had only managed to slow it down. It quickly regained its footing before continuing its journey towards us. Lemmy conjured a ball and sent it flying. The ball connected with the side of the Mecha-Junior's head once more; causing it to spin around. The robot stood in place, attempting to regain some sense of direction. I didn't give it any time to recover and summoned a barrage of lightning bolts that, on connection, sparked through its giant body, giving off a static sound; but this seemed to only anger it. It took a few more large steps in our direction and was within close combat range. It then threw a fist in a downward motion straight towards Lemmy, seemingly crushing him. I gasped in horror, fearing the worst, but upon impact, Lemmy's decoy disappeared in a puff of smoke. The robot continued to stare at the spot where Lemmy had been standing only moments before. Suddenly, it was knocked forward by a large fireball, sent from behind. I sighed in relief as I could see Lemmy grinning.  
>"Not the brightest, is he?"<br>"You scared me!" I laughed, letting down my guard for a split second too long. Out of nowhere a tail connected with my feet as the Mecha-Junior span around on the spot; sweeping its tail to knock me down. I hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked out of me. The robot turned to face me and opened its mouth: forming a fireball to finish me off. Lemmy was by my side in an instant. He glared at the robot and waved his wand. Suddenly, a large bomb was thrown straight into the robots mouth. The fireball was extinguished as the baffled metal monster swallowed the bomb whole. I felt Lemmy's hand as he attempted to stand me up.  
>"We need to move Iggy, right now! Behind the trees!" I was on my feet and moving; nausea hit me hard and fast due to the speed Lemmy was pulling me at. I couldn't see properly so allowed him to lead me. He pulled me to the safety of a large tree and we both huddled behind it; it seemed as though we were just in time as then there was a large sounding explosion behind us. The frantic flapping of wings could be heard as birds began to flee in all directions: metal was flying everywhere. Lemmy held me tightly as we attempted to make ourselves as small as possible. After a few long minutes the metal rain came to a stop.<br>"Are you okay, Iggy?" Lemmy asked, surveying my body. I smiled at him:  
>"You know, at the start of the day I didn't like the thought of even using my wand, but that, was fun!" Lemmy sighed in relief and pulled me into a hug. "I never knew you could conjure bombs Lemmy! That was impressive; you saved my life."<br>"Neither did I. I was aiming to make a ball. It just ended up a bomb!" Lemmy replied, beaming at me. "Of course I saved you, what would life be without you!? Besides that, it was me that convinced you to help me find that thing in the first place." We spent a minute or so behind the tree in order to allow my dizzy spell to pass, before stepping out gingerly from behind it and looking at what had become of the area that had previously been filled with green. Most of the trees were charred and there were scraps of metal strewn across the ground; there was even a large scrap sticking out of the tree we had hidden behind. The ground was completely blackened, any moss that had been there originally, had been obliterated.  
>"Luckily this place is wet and humid, otherwise that may have started a rather large fire." Lemmy remarked, staring at the wreckage.<br>"Yeah, that's true ..." We stood for a minute in silence; taking in the full devastation that the blast had caused. I was getting restless and so decided to break the hanging silence: "So ... Was this worth it?" I asked, smiling at Lemmy. "Was it worth travelling further for this?" He grinned.  
>"Totally, what an end to this very strange trip. Thank you, Iggy!" With that I took his hand and we began springing back in the direction we had come from. Lemmy took advantage of the fact the animals had gone back into a state of silence and started humming one of his favourite tunes, the same one he had hummed for me since I was just a baby.<p>

The journey back was fairly uneventful. Lemmy continued to hum the whole way, soothing my headache, which was persistent. When we found our way back to the clearing, Lemmy noticed that I was beginning to falter slightly and so made me sit down. Once the colour began to flood back into my face again he helped me back up, but made a point of walking slightly slower. It felt like it was beginning to get dark, but there was no accurate way of telling here. After a while spent slowly walking back on the relatively clear path to the valley we stopped for another minute, to give me a rest, but also to have a look at the pool one more time.  
>"It's a shame," I remarked, looking at the stagnant pool sadly.<br>"Don't worry Iggy ... Maybe one day we'll find somewhere like we found yesterday and it will stay that way!" Lemmy replied, running his hand through my hair, forever the optimist.  
>"Yeah ... Maybe we will," I replied, attempting to smile back.<br>Another minute passed before I could no longer bear to look at the pool, so we moved on. Lemmy carefully helped me up the hill once more before we walked back down and into the mossy valley. After it was behind us, we walked in a straight line to the left of it until finally.  
>"There's Dark Land, Lemmy. I can see it!" I was just tall enough to see over the hill; I even lifted Lemmy up just so he could see it without having to walk any further.<br>"I believed you." He laughed as I put him back down, grinning.  
>"Let's go home," I said, sighing happily.<p>

I stopped and looked up at the huge fortress stood before us.  
>"I wonder ... Did anyone notice we were gone?" Lemmy looked at me sympathetically:<br>"I'm not sure, would it bother you if no one did?"  
>"Maybe a little bit."<br>"Well ... Let's find out."  
>Lemmy took my hand bracingly and led me into the Castle. As we walked down one of the streaming corridors, hoping to find someone, I could faintly make out the blue hair as it came towards us. Larry had indeed noticed that we weren't at any meals and had been worried. We filled him in on exactly what had happened since our disappearance. He listened to the full story intently before going back to a finer detail:<br>"You said, there were seven wolves in total ... And you think Junior has the brush?" We both nodded. "Then it's possible that those wolves, were us. The one that was separate may have been Roy, as he was more of a loner than anything." I looked at Lemmy, his eyes were wide.  
>"I hadn't even considered that Larry ... But it makes total sense," Lemmy said before turning to me, "Remember how terrified they all were of the Mecha-Junior? Maybe it's because he tried to represent himself in some way that was terrifying to us as we are all so much older than he is." I nodded before replying.<br>"The wolves were even arranged in height order ... I can't believe I dismissed that." Lemmy laughed:  
>"There was a lot going on Iggy ... Anyway, Larry, I think we had better go talk to <em>him<em> about this." Lemmy finished, rolling his eyes. Larry nodded in understanding and bid us farewell. We continued to walk down the long, thin corridor until we came to the large set of doors leading to Bowser's study. Lemmy knocked on the door and mimicked the "Is it important?" That came from within.  
>He didn't bother replying before opening the door. Bowser looked up.<br>"Ah. Lemmy and ... _Iggy_. How _nice_ to see you." He smiled somewhat coldly.  
>"What a casual way of greeting two of your children that haven't been around for a day and a half," Lemmy said with narrowed eyes.<br>"Oh ... You haven't ...? No. You haven't," Bowser replied, trying to sound nonchalant. Lemmy ignored this and began telling the story immediately. I piped in on smaller details and after some time, having told Bowser about the Mecha-Junior, the story came to an end.  
>"A mechanical Junior you say? Let me just ... Write that ... Down. Right." Lemmy looked outraged:<br>"May I ask why you're writing this down!?" He exclaimed, glaring at the quill Bowser was holding. I grabbed his hand, he looked at me and I smiled, mouthing "It's okay."  
>"Well, what I think you should learn my boy ..." He paused, looking out of the window, "Is that out of every mishap, can come good fortune."<br>"Right, so you're going to build a giant robot to attack Mario," Lemmy said, rolling his eyes.  
>"Oh there's more to it than that, but yes," Bowser replied. "Now, why don't we find little Junior?" He pushed passed us, out into the corridor.<p>

After directing Bowser to Junior's room, as it appeared - much to Lemmy's annoyance - that he didn't know where it was, Bowser knocked on the door and swiftly entered. Junior was sitting in the middle of the floor, lo and behold the Magic Paintbrush was in his hand. He was surrounded by many sheets of large paper. Each had different types of paintings. Among them there was a painting of the original landscape Lemmy had discovered and shown me; the valley and the pool. These seemed to be discarded to the side, however. What Junior had been focussed on were pictures of the second setting we had encountered: the dense jungle; the remake of the valley; the clearing and hill; the wolves and of course, Mecha-Junior. Bowser explained to Junior what his paintings had caused and Junior looked amazed, but happy.  
>"So ... That's what this brush does?" He asked, an unsettling smile on his face. This only seemed to encourage Bowser as he explained the powers of the brush.<br>"Since you seem to be so good with that brush, how would you like to be part of my newly established master plan, son?" Bowser asked, the same unsettling smile creeping into his features. Lemmy began shaking slightly beside me. I tightened my grip on his hand comfortingly.  
>"Just you and me ... ?" Junior asked, excitement showing on his face.<br>"Just you and me," Bowser repeated in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I think it's high time I started looking into the shine sprites of Delfino." With that, he turned to leave the room; not even acknowledging either Lemmy or I as he passed.  
>"Look guys, I painted you as wolves!" Junior said, pointing at his creations.<br>"That's nice, Junior," Lemmy replied as softly as he could, - I noticed his voice crack - before also turning to leave. I smiled at Junior and followed Lemmy out.  
>"Lemmy ... Wait!" I shouted after him. He turned and looked at me with tears in his eyes: it took a lot to upset Lemmy; I couldn't bear to see him in tears.<br>"We're just his tools, Iggy. Nothing more."  
>"I know that, but there's nothing we can do about it!" I ran to Lemmy, dropped to my knees and put my arms around him: "What we did today, that should be what we remember. Not him: he's not important, let him do what he wants. At the end of the day, he provides our meals. What<em> we<em> do together, that's what's important!" Lemmy wiped his face and smiled at me.  
>"I had a great time, Iggy."<br>"I did too." I emulated his smile before taking his hand once again and we made our way together back to our own room for some well-deserved sleep.


	12. Announcement

_**Chapter Three: Trip to Isle Delfino.**_

I awoke with a loud thud as my body found the floor. Lemmy quickly followed and landed on top of me. A deafening alarm was reverberating around the Castle; this wasn't an alarm that insinuated danger: it was an alarm used to summon the Koopalings. I couldn't help laughing at Lemmy's irritation, he was never one to be woken up by loud noises.  
>"Breakfast is in like half - an - hour!" He complained, scrambling up and off of me apologetically while looking at the clock on the table nearest to us. "Why does he want us up half an hour early?" I shrugged, still laughing. Lemmy poked me in the ribs.<br>"Ow- hey! Sorry, but you're just so funny when you're woken up!" I protested, wiping the laughter-induced tears from my eyes. Lemmy gave up trying to be annoyed and laughed too.  
>"Better not keep him waiting then. We're probably already late," He said with a sly grin. We both put on our shells before walking at a leisurely pace out and down the corridor. As Lemmy had said: we were most likely already late, so being an extra few minutes wouldn't kill anyone. After a few winding corridors we finally reached the throne-room, where Bowser held his "of high importance" meetings with us Koopalings and Junior. As we entered we saw the five of our siblings had assembled already. I saw Larry waving with a smile; I waved back, ignoring Wendy as she winced.<br>"Ah. Good, you're finally all here." Bowser's voice boomed around the room, calling everyone to silence. He shot a cold look at Lemmy and I - one that Lemmy shot straight back - before clearing his throat gruffly. "I've called you all here today, to discuss what will be happening over the next few weeks, possibly more as there isn't a direct amount of time associated with this plan; it will take as long as it takes." I heard Wendy scoff at the news. "Do you have a question, Wendy?" Bowser asked, coldly.  
>"Well, yes actually," She snapped, examining her nails. "How are we involved in this?"<br>"How about you keep your mouth closed until I have finished explaining; then you shall know all," Bowser replied sternly, placing a hand on his forehead. Wendy turned around and looked towards the wall, gritting her teeth as she did so. "As I was saying. We - Bowser Junior and I - don't know how long this will take. We have decided to take you all on a ... Holiday." Lemmy had a quizzical look on his face. He looked at me and I simply shrugged. "It will be on the island known as Delfino," Bowser continued, now staring straight at Lemmy. Lemmy replaced his inquisitive expression with one of steely indifference, denying Bowser any satisfaction. I reached for Lemmy's hand, knowing he would be upset at being reminded of the events that had taken place just a few days before in which he had been reduced to tears. Luckily Bowser hadn't been able to witness him in that state, however. I felt him accept my hand gratefully. "While Junior and I work alone to abduct Peach and stop Mario from getting her back, - as they have both received a formal invitation to stay on Delfino as well as a few others from the Mushroom Kingdom - you kids will be staying in an all inclusive hotel known as "Hotel Delfino". I have no idea how good this hotel is-"  
>"Nor does he care," Lemmy mumbled and I stifled a laugh.<br>"-But it is the only hotel on the island, so it will have to do," He finished, looking at all of us as though expecting something. The silence hung in the air for a while before Lemmy decided to give him what he wanted.  
>"Wow, thanks! That sounds just <em>great<em>!" His voice was dowsed in undiluted sarcasm. I had to turn away for a moment to compose myself. I covered my laugh with a convenient coughing fit and as I turned back I saw Larry grinning; even Ludwig was suppressing the urge to laugh. Bowser glared at us, but as no one else was saying anything, - not even Morton - he had no choice but to accept.  
>"R-right ... Well, we're leaving tonight in my airship. So ... I'll see you then. Dismissed."<br>We still had a few minutes until breakfast, so Lemmy and I nodded to Larry as he passed before finding a secluded space to sit.  
>"Are you alright, Lemmy?" I asked, eyeing him anxiously.<br>"I'm fine, but thank you for taking my hand: I began to struggle a bit." I smiled in response.  
>"A holiday ... Do you know anything about Delfino?"<br>"It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in this world, according to what I've read," Lemmy replied with a far-away look in his eye.  
>"As beautiful as that place you found earlier this week?"<br>"Hmm ... I've never even seen a picture of Delfino. I really can't compare the two, but I'm sure it will be on par, if not better," Lemmy said, looking at me happily.  
>"Finally ... Some place we can truly enjoy. Hopefully it won't change into a jungle." Lemmy grinned.<br>"Well, if it does we'll know who to blame!"

As Lemmy and I entered the mess hall things were almost eerily quiet: no one was talking. It seemed as though everyone was still deep in thought. Larry caught sight of us and hopped over.  
>"No one's talking; it's so awkward," He said, grimacing.<br>"Don't worry, Larry. I think you'll find it's hard to get us to _stop_ talking," Lemmy replied, offering Larry a seat across from us. "Just let me get my toast," He finished, waving his hand as he went.  
>"So, Iggy. What do you think about this holiday?" Larry asked, sitting down. He sounded excited and so I decided to fill him in on what Lemmy had told me. "Really? It's that beautiful? Well I suppose so. Why would Princess Peach be going otherwise ...? I can't wait to explore it!" Larry had always loved exploring and recording the things he found in a rather large journal he kept. I smiled at him as he began to nibble on a sausage before digging into my own small breakfast consisting of cereal. Lemmy came back with perfectly browned toast and sat down beside me.<br>"Iggy, I got three slices, if you want one ... ?" He said, raising his eyebrows slightly. I gratefully accepted the toast as cereal was never quite enough to sustain me for extended periods of time. We finished breakfast together before Larry said he was going to sort some things out for the trip and left us. We decided Larry had the right idea and walked back to our own room to get things ready.

Another alarm bell - of the same type as the one that had rang in the morning - sounded once more as the sun began its descent, to indicate we should begin making our way to the airship dock.  
>"Oh ... <em>Great<em>," Lemmy groaned. "Delfino is quite far away and that means we need to be in the same vicinity as that oaf for an extended period of time."  
>"We're taking his airship, Lemmy. It's huge, remember? All we have to do is steer clear of the bridge," I replied comfortingly.<br>"Oh Yeah! I forgot how big it is," Lemmy admitted. As we arrived at the dock there was a perfect view of the orange sun, lazily melting into the hills out of the large, open hanger. Lemmy and I spent a few minutes admiring it together until the sound of the engine's roars made us hurry aboard.  
>"All present and accounted for?" Bowser's voice rang out over an intercom, after the ship was already safely in the air. I looked around and saw that everyone was indeed on the ship: Junior was currently on the bridge with Bowser. Lemmy laughed bitterly.<br>"I honestly doubt he would go back if someone wasn't, unless it was his precious brush wielder." For the first time Ludwig spoke up.  
>"I fear you may actually be right there, Lemmy. He is becoming increasingly rude in that way with age."<br>"Rude is one way of putting it, I suppose," Lemmy replied before turning to me and motioning towards a corner. I followed his gaze and nodded, allowing him to lead me over to it. We sat down together and I lowered my body slightly closer to the ground, allowing Lemmy to lay his head on my shoulder. The trip was fairly devoid of any excitement, which I didn't mind. Lemmy quickly fell asleep on me shortly after the sun had fully departed. Wendy and Morton had left the room, as they knew I was in it. Ludwig sat, motionless and alone; staring out of a window at the opposite end of the room. Larry had been watching Lemmy and I for quite some time. I offered for him to sit with us but he politely refused and lay down on his own in a corner with his hands behind his head. I spent some time listening to Lemmy's deep breathing, slowly drifting into a stupor, but I was forced back to awareness by sudden turbulence. I grumbled slightly, readjusting my position so I was even closer to the ground. Lemmy momentarily woke up and, looking around in a daze, asked where we were.  
>"We're in the airship, it's still dark," I said, smiling kindly at him. His eyes drooped slightly before he allowed his head to fall onto my lap: he was gone again. My own eyes began to droop once more, and with no further interruptions I fell into unconsciousness.<p>

I woke up as the harsh, morning sun assaulted my face. I held a hand up in an attempt to deflect the barrage of rays that viciously flew for eyes. Lemmy stirred slightly on my lap and lifted his head. He groaned as the sun found its new target.  
>"Okay, let's move," I said emphatically and we shuffled to the side - without getting up - to a large box placed not too far to our left. I cringed at the pain in my neck: I had been sleeping in a partial sitting position for the whole night.<br>"It would've been good if this thing had beds," I complained, rubbing my neck.  
>"Oh ... Yeah. Sorry Iggy, I had you for a bed," Lemmy replied innocently. I grinned at him.<br>"You did indeed, you were really out of it."  
>"I've told you before: You're really comfy." I began uncontrollably giggling, as did Lemmy.<br>"Guys ... It's still early. Could you please keep it down?" Ludwig's grouchy voice found its way to us from across the room.  
>"Okay, sorry," Lemmy replied before whispering, "What a grump, not even I'm that bad in the mornings."<br>"It's really not our fault he stayed up half the night watching the darkness as it rolled passed the window," I replied, looking over at Ludwig's slumped form. Lemmy rolled his eyes.  
>"Speaking of which:" He got up and looked out the window closest to us. After a moment he turned to face me, "You know ... I think, I can see something." I got up and crossed over to where Lemmy was standing.<br>"Hmm ... Yeah, maybe ... Down there?" I pointed to a small green spec that seemed to be growing in size.  
>"Yeah, it's getting closer, that must be it." Larry, seemingly having been awake the whole time, crossed over to us for a peek as well.<br>"Yeah, guys. I think I can see it too." Another minute passed by, Ludwig's snoring was the only thing filling in the room.  
>Lemmy pressed up close against the glass:<br>"Okay, that's definitely it; we're starting to descend. We've arrived at Delfino." He turned to Larry and I, grinning. "Finally, time for some fun!"


	13. Arrival

The airship continued to fly in a straight line until we were passing over a large volcano. I looked down into it as we passed over the top and saw flowing lava, indicating the volcano was still active. I shuddered: natural calamities could put a dent in the relaxation aspects of this holiday, should they occur. Lemmy looked at my terrified expression and followed my gaze.  
>"Iggy ... The whole of Dark Land is basically one big lava trap."<br>"I know that, but Dark Land isn't a tiny, easily wiped out island!" I countered, shaking violently. Lemmy rubbed my arm soothingly.  
>"The chances are that volcano won't go off at all, never mind while we're here." I felt myself begin to calm down upon hearing those words and smiled slightly. "There we go, just don't think about it okay? We're here for fun," He continued, smiling reassuringly at me. The airship continued passed the volcano for a bit before descending vertically down into a small, sheltered cove.<br>"This is where Junior and I will be spending our time during this plan. You kids will have to make your own way to the hotel." Bowser's voice rang out once more. Ludwig was still snoring in the corner; completely dead to the world. Larry walked over and tapped his arm and he flew awake, flailing his arms around like windmills.  
>"W-what!?" He screamed. Larry staggered back, struggling to retain his balance. Lemmy caught him before he could fall.<br>"Thanks, Lemmy," Larry said with a deep sigh. "Ludwig ... I'm your brother; not an assassin. We've landed and have to make our own way to the hotel. Thought you'd like to know." Ludwig apologized, with a slightly red face, before swiftly setting off to find the hotel on his own.  
>"What about you, Larry? How are you going to find the hotel?" I asked, following Ludwig's progress out of the window.<br>"Well ... None of us know where it is right? That's a good start," Larry replied, rolling his eyes.  
>"I saw a town as we were about to land; it's just over the volcano. Although for Iggy's sake, I'd rather not scale that thing," Lemmy said. I smiled at him, glad of not having to go near the death trap. "Either way, I think the best thing to do would be to find that town. Then we could ask for directions, or better yet, a map." Larry grinned.<br>"You guys can do that if you like. I want to work on finding this hotel by myself. It's the only one on the island; shouldn't be too hard to find. Good luck to you both!" He waved at us before making his own way off the airship. I stared at Lemmy for some time, who was watching Larry go. I was still tired and found my head was beginning to droop.  
>"Iggy? Don't fall." I was snapped back to the room with a start.<br>"Oh ... Yeah. Thanks Lemmy ..." I replied, yawning.  
>"We need to get some air about your face before you keel over. Come on." Lemmy took my hand and led me outside, giggling at how drunken I seemed. As we stepped out into the small cove, I felt the wind that was gently blowing in off the sea. I took a deep breath, taking in the salty spray before falling back onto the sand; soaking up the warm sun rays. I could hear Lemmy laughing and opened an eye to look at him.<br>"You're taking full advantage of this straight away I see!" He remarked, grinning at me.  
>"It's great, Lemmy! The smell - I love it, and the sand is so warm." Lemmy dropped to his knees and picked up a hand-full of sand.<br>"Wow, you're right: it's lush. I wonder if there's a more ... Private cove," He said, glaring up at the eye sore we had just walked out of.  
>"Maybe ... Only one way to find out I suppose." I tried to get up, but found that: due to the force I had fallen to the ground with, my shell had seemingly become one with the sand. "Lemmy ... I'm ... Kind of stuck," I said, my cheeks reddening slightly.<br>"You're _what_!?" Lemmy exclaimed incredulously, staring at me with his mouth open.  
>"Well ... My shell: it kind of got wedged, I think." Lemmy suddenly keeled over, his jovial laughter filled the cove for a good minute before he managed to compose himself enough to speak.<br>"You're ... ? I-I can't believe this!" He cried; his laughter was so contagious I couldn't help giggling myself.  
>"Look, it's an experience every Koopa has probably had at some point in their life!" I protested, continuing to laugh.<br>"No, I think you're the only one!" Lemmy replied with tears in his eyes. He came over and offered me his hand.  
>"On three: one ... Two ... <em>Three<em>!" He began pulling my hand with all his might; I felt my shell begin to move freely and tried shuffling my weight around. With a lot of effort we managed to pull me safely out of my prison.  
>"... Thanks, Lemmy. I can only imagine how bad that may have been if you weren't here," I said, grinning.<br>"You're ... Welcome," Lemmy panted. "Try not to get stuck again, okay? That was hard." He bent over and put his hands on his knees, allowing the air to fill his lungs once more.  
>"Don't worry! If we find somewhere better I'll take my shell off anyway," I replied, waving my hand dismissively. "So ... Which way to town?" Lemmy pointed towards the volcano.<br>"It's directly that way, but by the looks of things there's a coastal way around if we go ... That way," He said, pointing to our right.

We began walking slowly on the winding, tropical path that led to town: the whole island seemed like a paradise, and when comparing it to Dark Land, it was like Lemmy and I had ascended from Hell into Heaven. The slender green trees all had fruits and some even had coconuts on them. There was an abundance of birds in all different colours flying from tree to tree, exchanging different songs in a medley of sound. Flowers lined the edges of the path, basking in the warm morning sun. To the left of the path: the white sands continued and waves were rolling up and down the beach in a perpetual cycle; sighing with every advance.  
>"There's no shortage of sand then," I said, pointing at the beach.<br>"I think that's the case around the whole island," Lemmy replied. We continued to walk on the path, rounding a long curve until finally we found a large, white lighthouse. "Here's the town!" Lemmy exclaimed.  
>"Right, let's not waste any time then!" I began to bound forward on the white sand until I found some steps leading up to a bustling shopping district. Lining the stalls were all different types of fruits I had seen hanging on the trees, with large creatures I had never seen before lounging about in deck chairs that seemed too small for them. Lemmy caught up with me and scanned the area as I had done. "Lemmy ... What are they?" I whispered, leaning in close.<br>"They're ... Piantas, I think."  
>I looked at the closest creature known as a Pianta: it looked like an overweight, oddly coloured human with button black eyes and a nose that took up almost all of its face. It also had a-<br>"Is that thing on its head a hat ...?" I asked, staring at the tree-like object that seemed to be growing out of the nearest Pianta's head; providing it with shade.  
>"You know, Iggy ... I really have no idea," Lemmy replied and we both laughed. "Anyway, I think we should ask one of them for directions." He began to approach one of the Pianta's that was sitting beside a fruit stall, I followed him hesitantly, as the Pianta gave me an uneasy feeling. I soon found out my worries were wasted here as this particular Pianta was severely laid-back.<br>"Directions to Hotel Delfino? Well, I know where it is, but I'm not the best at explaining things. Let me just get Pauline." He called for the Pianta known as Pauline and after some time she came out of the building behind him. Upon noticing her two new visitors, she beamed.  
>"Ah, it's not very often we get ... I'm sorry, but what species are you?"<br>"We're Koopas," Lemmy replied and I cringed, expecting poor reception of this news.  
>"Oh Koopas! I can't say I've heard much about them." I sighed in relief. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing!?" She swooned at Lemmy, who smiled in response. I felt a sudden heat flush my body, and it wasn't due to the burning sun. I quickly shook it off as I became aware that I was being over-protective of Lemmy. Turning to the side, I coughed and attempted to keep myself in check. Lemmy turned and raised his eyebrows at me, his eyes showing his concern. I smiled half-heartedly to show him I was alright. "Welcome to Delfino! Now, what is it you wanted?" Pauline continued as if nothing had happened. Lemmy turned back to her and re-explained our dilemma. "So ... You arrived in a cove on the opposite side of the island and you're now looking for Hotel Delfino? Okay. I can tell you where to go, but I'm sure we have a map somewhere too." Pauline walked back into the house and after a small amount of time in which Lemmy happily chatted to the shop keeper, she came back out holding a relatively detailed map of the island. She handed it to Lemmy, who upon looking at it let out a laugh.<br>"Look at this, Iggy." He handed me the map and I scanned it quickly. It took me a moment to realise what I was looking at before I laughed too: the Island was in the shape of a dolphin.  
>"Well ... That's, coincidental. I never noticed that as we landed," I said while pouring over the map; looking for the hotel.<br>"It is rather ..." Pauline replied, chuckling. "Now, if you want to get to the small inlet that contains Hotel Delfino there are two ways you can go: you can go back the way you came and walk right around the island. Or you can get a boat from ... Here:" She placed a finger on the map, "Don't worry! The boat is free!" She finished after noticing our downcast expressions.  
>"Oh, that's great ... Thank you so much!" Lemmy said, beaming at her.<br>"Any time. I hope you find it okay, and if you ever need anything else feel free to come back and visit us!" She lowered her voice, making it too hard to hear her without leaning in. "Don't tell any of the other merchants I said this, but our fruit is the best in town." She winked at us and we grinned before waving goodbye and making our way towards the harbour.  
>"Were you alright back there, Iggy? You seemed a little bit off," Lemmy said, looking at me. I winced slightly: I had hoped he wouldn't have brought it up.<br>"Yeah ... I was fine." He raised his eyebrows: I couldn't lie to him. "Well, maybe I got a bit ... Jealous, for a second."  
>"<em>Jealous<em>?" Lemmy repeated, his eyes wide.  
>"Only for a second!" I said quickly, trying to cover my shame.<br>"Iggy ... You're my brother and my best friend. Please never feel like you need to be jealous, okay? No one is going to take me away from you, especially not a Pianta. They're not exactly ... You know, anyway, that woman looked middle aged, and unless that was her brother, possibly married!" He replied, grinning at me.  
>"Okay ... I do know all that, but ... I don't know, I just panicked for a moment; I couldn't help it."<br>"Okay then, just ... Don't worry about it. It's completely fine." I smiled in relief at him and he took my hand before we continued walking. After passing a large statue and turning right up a small ramp we found the harbour. On the way down to the water I nearly fell over, but Lemmy managed to stop me from falling.  
>"Are you alright, Iggy?" He asked, looking at me with a bemused expression.<br>"It's the water, the floor is a bit slippery," I said with a frown, before pointing below us: there was a layer of shining liquid covering the ground.  
>"Oh! I never even noticed it!"<br>"That's because your balance is impeccable, and I'm clumsy."  
>"I wouldn't say you're clumsy, it's just your big feet!" Lemmy grinned up at me and I laughed.<br>"I can't argue with that." We continued our walk, taking extra care not to slip again, before noticing something that made both our hearts lift: there was a small gondola with a bored looking Pianta inhabiting it, drumming his fingers on the edge. He noticed us as we approached and perked up.  
>"Are you looking for a ride?" He asked with a small smile; we nodded consecutively. "That's great news: I've been sitting here all day, not a single person has come by."<br>"Not a single person?" Lemmy repeated. He turned to me. "I take it the others are wandering around lost then. Or in Larry's case he's probably on the other side of the island by now." I looked around before nodding.  
>"I didn't see any of our siblings around town. Mister, did you see any other people of our species, looking lost?"<br>"Nope, can't say I did. Sorry," He replied with an apologetic frown. "Anyway, you ready to head out?" I looked at Lemmy, who nodded. We both got into the gondola, being careful not to tip it. Lemmy told the Pianta we wanted to go to Hotel Delfino and the he nodded, saying we should sit back and relax for a while. The journey was slow, which neither of us minded. I had a tendency to get sick on boats, but the current was as smooth as silk. Lemmy lay looking at the sky with his head on my lap. The Pianta who owned the boat wasn't particularly chatty; therefore, there was a comfortable silence broken only by the gentle sea breeze and rolling of the waves. Just as I was beginning to drift slightly, I heard the Pianta say something unintelligible.  
>"Okay, that's good to hear," Lemmy replied from my lap. I looked around in a daze and saw a tall building reaching up and into the sky. After another minute we had reached a small quay. We thanked and bid the Pianta farewell before beginning to walk up to where we would be staying for the next few weeks. The sun was slowly beginning to go down at this point and was casting long shadows over the area.<br>"The sun goes down quite early here I see," Lemmy remarked. I hadn't thought of the time. It had felt as though we had been on the boat for hours.  
>"Yeah, I suppose so. Hopefully it comes up early too." I noticed several tiki-esque bars with fruit juices as we walked and sunbeds were spread out in a wide arc. There were a few pools with plants surrounding them too, reflecting the final rays of sunlight. The entire inlet was encased by hills that stretched around the hotel, shielding it from some of the wind. The complex had a perfect view of the sun setting; I sat down on a sunbed and Lemmy did the same. We sat admiring the sun as we had done the night before. I looked at Lemmy and smiled.<br>"No rushing onto an airship tonight ... May the relaxation, begin."


	14. Noki Bay's Secrets

For the next few days, Lemmy and I made a habit of lounging around the hotel; doing nothing in particular. We got used to the succulent food which was a cut above our usual meals at home, which surprised us as the food at home was considered some of the best. We got used to going up to the top floor to splash around in the pool. We spent some time doing the same in the ocean and at the end of every day - we would watch the sun make its descent. Our siblings all arrived safely in the same way we had done save for Larry, who travelled around the whole island before finding the hotel; he had come to find the room that Lemmy and I had assigned ourselves, sweating and still out of breath.  
>"So ... The Island has a lot of hills." Larry had gone out exploring every day and recommended several points of interest on the map Pauline had given us that we could go to. There were many places on Delfino that acted as small settlements, but Lemmy and I were still adamant that we could find an empty cove in which we could relax. Larry had recommended that for that we should sail up around Noki Bay, where there were less people, so we made plans to hire a boat and travel around the coast up there in search of one.<p>

I felt hands shaking me gently and opened an eye to find Lemmy's face close to mine; he was saying something.  
>"-Until breakfast finishes. We need to order food now if we want to go anywhere today."<br>"The usual please, Lemmy ..." I mumbled before my head fell back to my pillow. I woke up again with a start, the aroma of fresh toast was wafting around my nose; upon looking to my left I could see a plate of it, placed on my bedside table. Lemmy was sitting beside me on the bed; reading a book.  
>"You fell back asleep almost straight away; I didn't want to wake you again," He said without looking up.<br>"How long ...?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.  
>"Only around fifteen minutes, the toast came five minutes ago." I looked back at the bedside table and felt my mouth begin to water.<br>"Is any of this yours?" I was barely able to stop myself from devouring it then and there.  
>"No. I finished mine, go ahead." I could hear the amusement ringing in his voice.<br>"Thanks." I grabbed the toast from the plate and began wolfing it down. I was pleased to find it was grilled to perfection and within a few short minutes it was fully consumed. I lay back against the backboard of the bed; letting out a sigh as I did so. After a few moments of stretching, I looked around the room, as I suddenly found my mouth was incredibly dry after consuming three slices of toast. I looked over at Lemmy and saw he was now looking back at me. He reached to the bedside table on his side of the bed and passed me some colourful cordial.  
>"Sorry, I forgot to put it on your table." I grinned and nodded my thanks before quenching my thirst with half of the glass, after a few seconds I was suddenly bent double on the bed and could hear Lemmy giggling. "The air conditioning is on and it's not the warmest of days, they haven't heated up."<br>"I know that _now_," I replied through clenched teeth, waiting for the uncomfortable sensation to pass. I lay down beside Lemmy and he began rubbing my head. Within minutes I was dozing again; with a sudden jerk I sat bolt upright, remembering that Lemmy and I had planned on going somewhere today.  
>"I'm sorry Lemmy: we were going to find a cove, right?"<br>"Yeah, but If you're too tired I don't mind."  
>"No, I'm fine. I just need to wash my face; that'll wake me up."<br>I came out of the bathroom shortly after with water dripping from the tips of my hair. Lemmy had gone to fetch one of the towels he had left to dry on the balcony.  
>"Thanks!" I accepted the towel and ran it across my face, feeling fully refreshed. "I don't know how you manage to sleep so well, Lemmy."<br>"It's you Iggy: you're some sort of super pillow!" He replied with a slanted smile. I began roaring with laughter as I did whenever he referred to me as his pillow or bed. We walked out of the room, filling the large hall outside with our raucous laughter. As we passed Ludwig's room I stopped and pressed an ear to his door. The familiar noise that was finding its way to my ear signified Ludwig was still sleeping.  
>"Come and listen Lemmy ... He's so loud!" Lemmy hopped over and pressed an ear to the door.<br>"I'm surprised he doesn't accidentally burn his room down or something," Lemmy said and our laughter was renewed. Sounds of an angry teen stirring began to resound, "Oh, now he really _is_ going to burn down the room." We ran down the stairs quickly before the pedantic Koopaling had the chance to reach the door.

It was a beautiful day outside; as we reached the lobby I was forced to cover my eyes for a moment: dazzling sun rays were being reflected into the building all the way from the sea. The immortal sea breeze was attempting to invade the hotel every time the main door was opened, only to stalk back out once more as it was sealed shut. Lemmy and I rushed towards the exit, as it wouldn't be unusual for Ludwig to follow us all the way down just to get a word in. Once safely outside I shuddered as the wind hit me. It wasn't cold, - the sun was still blazing, providing a substantial amount of heat - but it couldn't be described as warm. This was emphasised further by the lack of people that were outside. Usually the sunbeds were lined with greedy holiday makers, who often violently fought over them in order to soak up the sun from dawn until dusk. It wasn't unusual for towels to be on the beds by six in the morning; however, today, only half the beds were occupied.  
>"Hopefully we can find a decent sized cove that's at least sheltered from this wind," I moaned.<br>"Don't worry, there's bound to be one somewhere. We'll find it." Lemmy smiled at me with his usual optimism. He had never failed to cheer me up with his happy demeanour. We wandered down to the quay we originally arrived at and saw a number of unoccupied gondolas ready for taking. "Do you think we're allowed to just ... Take these?" Lemmy asked.  
>"I'd guess so. If not I doubt anyone will mind much, we already know how laid back the Piantas are for the most part. If anything it doesn't even matter because we're the <em>diabolical<em> Koopalings!" I took this opportunity to attempt my evil laugh. Lemmy burst into fits of laughter.  
>"Yes! We're the malevolent Koopalings; we're here to snatch your princess! Why? To court her of course!" I struggled to regain my breath, placing my hands on my knees. I took a great lungful of air before I lowered myself into the boat. Lemmy waited for me and jumped into my arms playfully, causing the boat to rock precariously in response.<br>"Okay, mister boat doesn't like it when you're rambunctious, Lemmy." He winked at me and I put him down with a grin before picking up the oars. We set out, making a start into the clear waters, the wind wasn't having much of an effect on the tide: it was still as smooth as ever, I had total control of the boat and it responded to the oars with grace as I guided it through the ocean.  
>"Iggy, stop a second. Look over there, at the town!" I pulled the dripping oars into the boat and looked over at the main town of Delfino; my eyes widened.<br>"What ...? How?" It was as though someone had opened a large umbrella above the town: there was no sun light to be found within it, as though a barrier was reflecting any rays that the sun was producing. It had been slathered in an imposing layer of shade; there were no clouds to cause the lack of light either. It was simply missing, with no - from the looks of things - cause. "Do you think Junior did that somehow?" I questioned, transfixed on the town.  
>"We've seen first-hand what he's capable of, it's possible. I think we should just forget about it for now though: we've a cove to hunt," Lemmy replied with bright eyes. I nodded and continued my course in the opposite direction of the town.<p>

We passed by a large amusement park that dominated an island of its own, ignoring the highly inhabited beaches in the area around it. Lemmy pointed out Sirena Beach, which we could see was filled with people, even from half a mile away. Although Larry hadn't cared: Lemmy and I desired a spot in which we were guaranteed to avoid unwanted visitors from the Mushroom Kingdom; therefore, steering clear of the most inhabited areas was the most desirable option. After sailing for what seemed like hours we rounded a bend.  
>"Just a little bit further and we'll have reached Noki Bay," Lemmy explained with his face in the map. "It's inhabited by Nokis, believe it or not." I grinned, considering all the inhabited areas named after certain species'.<br>"It seems as though most of the places here have ... Original names."  
>"It's like that everywhere! The 'Mushroom Kingdom', it just so happens to be covered in giant mushrooms. Oh and 'Dark Land', that one is just a cruel reminder of how dead and gloomy it is." We both started laughing and I was glad of the momentary break from rowing: tt was beginning to get tiring and my arms were beginning to ache.<br>"You know Iggy, I could take one of the oars, if you'd like." Lemmy had read my mind, it was then that I remembered: although he was small, he was strong.  
>"If you don't mind. My arms are killing me," I replied with a small smile. I handed him an oar and he handled it easily even though it was huge compared to him. It looked so comical that I couldn't help giggling. He poked me with the end of the oar and my balance wavered for a moment.<br>"Okay, I think I deserved that." Lemmy was glaring at me with a forced look of anger.  
>"That's what you get for making fun of my lack of hair!" He puffed out his lips and his impression of Wendy was almost perfect. I had to sit down for a moment.<br>"Lemmy, the boat can only take so much of my laughter!" I had a flash back to the pool in which I was driven under the water by Lemmy's humour, "Remember what happened last time you made me laugh too much."  
>"Oh yes ... Let's hope this boat floats better than you did," He replied with a sly grin.<p>

Another ten minutes passed before Lemmy pointed out a small nook with fine sand. From the looks of things, it was fairly sheltered and the wind would have a hard time permeating it. We both agreed it looked promising and began to row over to it. As we got closer I could see its finer details clearly: the cove was around fifteen metres in length, embraced by large walls that were covered in tribal markings. Several dainty patches of grass could be spotted on small cliffs rising out of the ground. There were two holes - around ten metres up, almost in line with the markings - that caught my eye: they somehow didn't seem natural, considering they were almost perfect circles and were directly opposite each other. This was the one spot that the wind could flow through, but due to the dimensions of the holes the wind was propelled through; travelling directly from one hole to the other.  
>"Don't you think that's slightly strange Lemmy ... Those holes: they don't look natural," I said, watching the visible wind currents. "The winds flow as if with some sort of purpose."<br>"It is a bit funny looking, but it's quirky, I suppose, and it keeps the wind away from us."  
>"Those etchings ... They're so high up," I continued, pointing up the wall at the strange markings. "How do you suppose they got all the way up there?" Lemmy followed my finger before cocking his head to the side.<br>"Perhaps ... There's more to this place than meets the eye," He said, rescanning the area. I followed his lead but after a minute or so of looking I gave up: nothing else seemed out of place. There were vines lining the walls as well as moss, but the vines looked as though they would give way with any weight, ruling out the idea they had been climbed in order to carve the markings. As we pulled up on the shore I made a point of getting Lemmy's attention before removing my shell.  
>"I don't plan on getting stuck today ... Or ever again, for that matter."<br>"If you got stuck a second time I may have found myself incapacitated and unable to help you."  
>"I'll remember that if you ever get stuck," I replied with a grin.<br>"Well, I can't imagine it will be _too_ hard to avoid that. Especially after you warned me by example in the first place." We spent a moment giggling, sitting in the boat, before finding a suitable spot beside a cliff with nice amounts of shade. I lay down on the sand and Lemmy followed my example; he then began playing with it, allowing the fine powder to roll through his fingers. I sat watching him for a while, looking at the flowing sand. As time pressed on, I felt my eyelids were beginning to grow heavy and I lay my head down on the soft sand. After a while Lemmy began rubbing my head in the same way he had done earlier that morning; some more time passed in which I was practically purring before my eyes closed and were simply too heavy to open again.  
>I woke up and began looking around, unsure of the time: Lemmy had induced sleep in me once more. I looked down and noticed he was asleep on my chest. It felt somewhat ironic that we had come to find this place just to continue sleeping. I chuckled, causing Lemmy to stir slightly. He lifted his head with his eyes half open. Upon looking at me, he smiled.<br>"Must have drifted off ... It's so peaceful here."  
>"You drove me to sleep with your masterful hands," I replied and he laughed.<br>"We can't have been asleep too long: the sun hasn't moved much," He stated, surveying the sky. I stood up, stretching my arms and taking a deep breath, before running my hands down my body; removing the excess sand that had stuck to me. Lemmy did the same.  
>"Let's actually do something, we can explore this place a bit more now." I lifted him up and he gave a surprised squawk. "Don't worry, I'm just making it more fun!" I placed him on my shoulders and we began to parade the beach; looking for anything that could be considered out of the ordinary now that we had the free-reign to explore it by land. We looked behind the backs of the small cliffs and surveyed the smaller rocks. I even lifted Lemmy up onto the top of one of the smaller cliffs so he could have an even higher vantage point. I wasn't sure what I should have been looking for, but after a few laps of the beach Lemmy spotted something.<br>"That rock looks slightly out of place, on the wall. Could be coincidental, but I suppose it's worth taking a look at." I looked towards where he was pointing and noticed the oddly shaped rock protruding out of the wall. It did look out of place yet was subtle enough that it could be considered insignificant. I walked over to it and placed a hand on it curiously. To start with nothing happened, causing me to withdraw my hand in disappointment, but as I was about to turn around to continue the search I heard a faint sound behind me. I turned and noticed the rock had shuffled back into the wall. In response to its disappearance, a door began to appear in its stead. I raised my head to look up at Lemmy, who shrugged. I walked back to the boat where both of our shells were still sitting. Lemmy hopped off of my shoulders deftly and we both put them on.  
>"Do you think the boat will be fine?" I asked, looking around the area.<br>"I don't think we need to worry about a boat thief," Lemmy replied with a grin. "It doesn't look like you can get here without a boat in the first place: they'd just be swapping boats with us." We both travelled back to the newly emerged door. It lead to a pitch-black tunnel; from the small amount of sun rays that were lighting up a portion of the entrance I could see there was water running down the walls, and drips were echoing all around the tunnel.  
>"Lemmy, I'm not sure about walking into a tunnel this ... <em>Dark<em>," I said, staring into it with a grimace.  
>"Just let your eyes adjust for a second; I'm sure it will be fine. I'm here for you," Lemmy replied with an encouraging smile. I hesitantly agreed as it was true that I felt much less uneasy in darkness if I had him with me.<br>I gingerly traipsed into the tunnel, feeling my way along the wet wall in the darkness, while making sure I had a firm grip on Lemmy's hand behind me. After a minute or so the darkness began to ease up and - as my eyes had adjusted - I could see: the cave was beginning to open out. Just as I had begun to scan our surroundings, I heard a piston click.  
>"Stop, Lemmy." I narrowed my eyes, carefully surveying the grey rocks on either side of us. A volley of arrows flew by my face at break neck pace, causing me to stagger back slightly, but Lemmy managed to stop me from falling. I turned to him with a diffident smile and thanked him.<br>"I-I think we should go back to the beach, Lemmy." I looked at him and could see a familiar gleam in his eyes.  
>"Iggy, why don't we explore this further?" I sighed, knowing nothing would change his mind, but I tried anyway.<br>"Because this place just tried to kill us: I'd prefer to avoid unnecessary _death_." The expression that would be my downfall appeared on Lemmy's face and even though it was dark, it did nothing to lessen the effect it had on me; I began to smile.  
>"Iggy ... These traps: they're an indication. An indication that there is something to guard in here. Something the Nokis want hidden; we could find it!" My smile widened.<br>"You never play fair, Lemmy ... Your face is a weapon." He smiled angelically at me in response and I felt my heart rate quicken slightly. "But, I take your point. Alright, let's explore this place, but I want you to walk with me rather than behind me: two sets of eyes and ears are better at detecting traps than one." Lemmy nodded excitedly, his eyes glowing. "Just remember, we need to take this slowly."  
>After a while things seemed as though they would be fine. We hadn't encountered a single trap after the first arrow; I began to loosen up slightly and felt more confident as we progressed. "You know, this isn't that b-" I walked into Lemmy's arm, which he had put protectively in front of me. I looked down and saw I had nearly walked straight into a pit lined with spikes. "-ad. Okay. Never mind. I guess it tried to make me feel better before throwing that at me. Thanks, Lemmy ..."<br>"Let's try to avoid a repeat of that, mister _careful_. It's a good thing we're walking together," Lemmy said with a grin. I nodded, shuddering before stepping to the left to avoid the spikes. After more endless walking in the dank cave we came to what was seemingly a dead end.  
>"How <em>boring<em>," Lemmy said with a sigh. "This surely isn't it. Look around Iggy, maybe there's a switch like the one leading in here." I looked around and - although my visual acuity was almost halved in the darkness - could see what appeared to be a subtle stone jutting out of the wall, similar in size to the first one Lemmy had spotted. I walked over, pressed on it and ran back to Lemmy, fearing an onslaught of traps would bombard the area. There weren't any traps, instead the walls seemed to open up as they had done the first time. I cringed as the lights from outside flew at my eyes. We walked towards the light and looked out. It appeared that the cave had led us in a semi-circle, causing us to arrive back at the original cove. We weren't on the ground, however.  
>"It didn't feel like that cave was on a slope." I examined the path we had come from, frowning. Lemmy shrugged.<br>"Can't say I noticed either. Look, Iggy - these walkways weren't here originally." Lemmy was right: a stone path had formed on the cliff face. Upon scanning the cliff I realised that the path was the reason the carvings were here. The holes I had examined earlier were in line with the path as well, which caused a strong breeze to flow; making it slightly harder to stay balanced.  
>"Watch yourself, Iggy, this appears to be what those holes are for ... I wonder if they were crafted for this purpose or if this path was created here because the holes were there in the first place."<br>"They look crafted; they're the same size," I stated, raising my voice above the wind. "I can't imagine they'll have been there naturally, but then again, nature _is_ almost impossible to second guess."  
>"It must have been dangerous to have etched these markings in this wind, a lot of this doesn't make too much sense, how did the Nokis even manage to manipulate the cliff in this way?" I shrugged, staring at the place in awe. It was a marvel to say the least. I stood in the path of the wind to take the brunt of it so that Lemmy was safe and he and I spent some time pouring over the carvings, but after a while we decided we couldn't decipher any meaning out of them. They weren't like anything either of us had ever come across. We decided to simply press on: there were two ways in which we could go; to our left and right there were doors.<br>"Which way should we go?" I asked, looking anxiously between the two.  
>"Well, one will be trapped, no doubt. The other will probably lead to where we want to go. I see no point in putting thought into this, these carvings are of no help. Let's just choose one, which would you prefer?"<br>"I'd say ... The right."  
>"Okay, let's go. Just be careful," Lemmy said, more serious than he had been until now.<br>We walked through the door and it instantly sealed behind us, plunging us into total darkness.  
>"Wrong door," I grumbled before beginning to rummage inside my shell for my wand. A fireball flew out of Lemmy's mouth, directed towards the ceiling. The light allowed us to have a momentary glimpse of our situation; there was nothing threatening in the room from what I could make out. After a few seconds Lemmy fired a second fireball in the same direction. Things seemed as though they had changed, but I couldn't put my finger on what the difference was. I heard Lemmy sigh.<br>"What is it?" I asked, peering at him as my eyes began to make out his outline.  
>"Well, remember what you said about these places being original? The walls are closing in on us." I gasped, looking around us in fear. Upon listening intently I could hear a faint grinding noise as the walls continued their path towards us. I began to panic.<br>"Lemmy, I hate small spaces ... And darkness ... And walls!" I felt Lemmy take my hand.  
>"Calm down ... Take a deep breath." I did as I was told and began breathing deeply. "Don't worry, we're going to be fine, okay? I have my wand: the walls are about to hit an obstacle that they can't possibly pass. Come over here." He gave my hand a gentle tug and I walked uncertainly to the opposite end of the room with him. I noticed he was beginning to flourish his wand in the air and could faintly make out a ball being inflated at the spot we had walked from, quickly gaining mass.<br>I suddenly remembered that the balls Lemmy conjured with his wand were completely indestructible. As the walls collided with the giant ball, they were stopped cold; unable to travel any further. I took another deep breath, grabbed Lemmy and pulled him into a hug, feeling my anxiety levels substantially dropping. "Okay Iggy, that's stopped our imminent death, but I'll need you to blast us out of here, as if I use a bomb we'll be caught in the blast." I nodded, determined to remain calm. "But which wall?" I looked around for a moment.  
>"Well, we walked in from over there, and both passages leading in from outside were headed in the same direction. If I had to guess, I'd say the room we're looking for is right through there." I pointed at the wall behind us, opposite the ball. "I'd guess the walls meant to crush us would be solid, too." I began swaying on the spot: the combination of the darkness and the strong feeling of claustrophobia were beginning to make me feel nauseous. Lemmy held my hand tightly.<br>"Okay ... Let's stand back a bit then." We walked back to the ball Lemmy had conjured to create a wide berth between the demolition site and ourselves. I concentrated, breathing deeply and ignoring the dizziness before giving my wand a swift flick, focused directly at the wall. Three wisps filled the room with their green light before colliding with separate points on the wall; smashing it into pieces, it was hollow. Suddenly a new light filled the room, a brilliant fluorescent blue.  
>"Looks like you were right, Iggy." I looked at Lemmy and saw he was beaming at me, I smiled weakly before beginning to walk towards our newly made door.<br>"I need out of here: I'm beginning to get too dizzy."

The cavern that was connected to the room harbouring the trap was almost unbelievable: there were blue crystals growing out of the walls, emitting iridescent auras that filled the whole place with an atmospheric light. Whereas the other room had been small and cramped, this was one of the largest and most spacious caverns I had ever seen. Upon looking up I couldn't make out the ceiling: slowly the walls faded to black as the crystals receded; leaving a seemingly endless hole above us. The whole room seemed to gravitate on a slope towards the middle, in which there was a large lake with a walk way leading to a wide, imposing stone platform. There seemed to be an unnatural white light without a source shining down on the platform; revealing a rotting wooden chest.  
>"Well ... There's the treasure you spoke of, I presume?" I said with my arms crossed.<br>"Let's find out!" Lemmy set off at a half-run towards the platform. I followed wearily, clutching my wand tightly.  
>Upon reaching the chest Lemmy waited for me to catch up. "Are you ready?" I nodded gravely, standing with my wand raised. He slowly opened the chest, but was crestfallen upon noticing it was empty. "Well ... This is anti-climactic," He said, grimacing. "I'm sorry, Iggy: I really thought there would've been something here." He lowered his head and I put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder.<br>"It was good though, Lemmy. It took me out of my comfort zone." Suddenly, something in the chest caught my eye: it wasn't completely empty. "Wait, Lemmy, look. There's a note of some sort, scrunched into the corner." Lemmy reached into the chest, grabbed the piece of paper and smoothed it out. It had one sentence scrawled across the page:  
>"Our Shine Sprite ... Is in another cavern... ? " He read it aloud with a frown. "What do you think that means?" I shrugged.<br>"I suppose it's as simple as it seems. We've ended up in the wrong cavern. Do you have any idea what a Shine Sprite is? Didn't Bowser mention something about them?" Lemmy placed the paper back in the chest and cocked his head to the side.  
>"Yes ... He did. Something about the Shine Sprites of Delfino." He mumbled to himself for a little while before snapping his fingers. "Ah! Yes I <em>did<em> read something about them: they're what allows the sun to flow freely in Delfi- wait! That must be what's happened to the town! Its Shine Sprites have fled!" I stared at him, considering this.  
>"... Bowser said he was going to look into them. Maybe he found a way to ward them off?"<br>"Using the Magic Paintbrush ... But how does that contribute to his plans ... Well, whatever. It really doesn't concern us. It's a shame we didn't get any treasure, but at least we got to see this place. It's beautiful. I wonder ..." Lemmy began to walk back towards one of the walls of the cavern, I followed him curiously. "I think Larry would really like some of this crystal, he'll probably be jealous he didn't find it himself, but still, I think we should get him some." He pulled at a lump of the crystal and it surprisingly came away easily in his hands. I looked up, as though expecting the place to begin collapsing, but - much to my relief - it remained still. Lemmy looked at me and laughed upon noticing my perplexed expression.  
>"I think we've been through enough for one day. Let's get out of here."<p> 


	15. Raised Tensions

As it so happened: we apparently hadn't endured enough for one day. Upon rowing back around the bend and into the inlet holding Hotel Delfino we found it was gone. There weren't any remains to be found of it either. It had simply been replaced by a large amount of liquefied electricity. There weren't any Piantas to be seen; the amount of gondolas around the quay had been reduced to zero, suggesting they had fled or possibly been killed. Even parts of the beach were covered in the thick substance, radiating electricity.  
>"Here I thought things couldn't get any stranger," I sighed, crossing my arms at the scene in front of me.<br>"I'm not even going to hazard a guess as to what this is, or what's happened to this place."  
>"What are we supposed to do?"<br>"I've no idea. I somehow think this will have something to do with _him_. He couldn't have just let us have one week of relaxation."  
>"You know, I just had a thought: where do you suppose our siblings are?" Lemmy pondered this for a moment.<br>"Well, I'd imagine they would go to the original place we landed in, if they realised this was going to happen." I nodded, looking up at the volcano. I shuddered, hating the sight of it. I returned my gaze to the ground and something caught my eye: a shade of blue I was used to.  
>"Lemmy...!" I pointed towards the blue Mohawk that was near the hotel's original design site.<br>"Oh no ... Is he ...?"  
>"Surely not!" I frowned and frantically re-scanned the area more thoroughly: luckily there was a path leading closer to where the hotel had been. "Come on Lemmy! We need to get closer!" I lifted Lemmy up and began sprinting along the path, being careful to avoid any of the buzzing sludge. I got as close to Larry's limp form as I could and closely examined him. Only his left leg was within a portion of the sludge, the rest of his body was on a small knoll that had been left untouched by the destructive liquid. It was possible that he was still alive, but his body was convulsing violently. The problem was that we were separated by around two metres of the charged sludge; it was slightly too far for even me to reach. I looked at Lemmy desperately and saw he already had an idea. Jumping out of my arms, he quickly found his wand and began waving it in the same manner he had done earlier: Another large ball was created.<br>"Put that as close as you can to Larry, but don't let go of it!" He demanded; I got as close as I dared to the sludge before bending down and placing the ball around three quarters of the distance. I steadily held both my hands around its edges to retain my balance. "Okay, now I'm gonna use you to jump onto it, hold it steady for me." I nodded and braced myself with my head bent forward. I felt Lemmy climb up my shell and onto my shoulders. He lightly jumped over my head and onto the ball, easily finding his balance between my arms. It was only just far enough for him to be able to grab Larry and lift him up. I was shocked for a moment once again by just how strong Lemmy was, but this thought was quickly propelled out of my mind by the fact the ball was so much harder to hold on to now: Larry's shaking body was causing the ball to vibrate. My grip began to slacken; my face was reddening with the effort it took to sustain three bodies on one ball.  
>"L-Lemmy, quickly: get him over me before I kill us all!" I shouted breathlessly. Lemmy practically threw Larry over my back and I sighed as the ball became still once more. Once Lemmy was safely on the un-ravaged land that remained, I began rolling the ball back and forth ever-so-slightly to gain momentum. Once sure I had enough, I pushed off the ball as hard as I could, lifting my body up. Lemmy grabbed the bottom of my shell and pulled; I fell back and landed on the ground hard. I grinned at Lemmy, but we weren't out of the woods yet. Larry still had gelatinous goop on his leg and his body was still shaking. I picked him up - carefully avoiding his goop-covered leg - and began to run back towards the Ocean as quickly as I could. I abruptly lowered him into the oncoming tide and the foul liquid was instantly cleansed from his leg. His spasms slowly ceased and his body came to rest in my arms. I pressed an ear to his chest and sighed in relief upon hearing a beat. I placed my hand on his stomach just to be fully sure and could feel the rise and fall that signified Larry was going to be alright. By this point Lemmy had caught up; he had an anxious look on his face. I turned to face him and smiled, nodding my head. He sighed and sat down beside me.<br>"Poor Larry ... He must've slipped while trying to get away from whatever caused this. I can't believe he has done this, just what is he playing at? He almost killed one of his children and for what? So he could have his way with a spoiled princess who doesn't want him?" I patted Lemmy's back as he continued his rant, knowing letting him finish would make him feel better. "He's done a lot of stupid things in the past and shown on numerous occasions he doesn't care an awful lot about us. But this has shown that to him our lives have no value." Lemmy was seething at this point, but he calmed down upon hearing a small cough from my lap: Larry had half-woken up and was looking around in a daze; he didn't seem to be in pain.  
>"Larry ...?" I looked down at him and we locked eyes. He seemed to be having trouble recognising me. "It's me, Iggy: We're on the beach outside what used to be the hotel." This seemed to clear some of the haze clouding Larry's eyes. He blinked before nodding slowly.<br>"I-Iggy ...?"  
>"Yeah, Larry. We just found you: you had passed out after receiving a violent electric shock from whatever is covering the hotel." This had the desired effect as Larry's eyes suddenly opened fully.<br>"I remember ... Some big thing ... Like a shadow. It covered everything it passed in a large layer of that gunk. I only just managed to get out of the hotel before it was consumed-"  
>"So you didn't know it was coming?" Lemmy interjected. Larry looked over at Lemmy, noticing him for the first time. He nodded weakly.<br>"I had no idea."  
>"And the rest of our siblings? Have you seen them?"<br>"Not since early this morning." Lemmy stared up at the mountain, deep in thought.  
>"... It's almost as if you were supposed to be told by someone and yet you weren't."<br>"Maybe ... Well, I managed to escape but then I lost my balance slightly and my leg slipped. I remember a sharp pain; then everything went black. I thought I was going to die." He began tearing up; I held him tightly.  
>"It's alright Larry, I think we found you just in time."<br>"Oh ... Yes. Thank you so much for saving me!" Larry smiled at us and we all grinned. I wanted to take Larry's mind off of the events that had just taken place; so I decided to begin telling him about everything Lemmy and I had done that day.

"You found an empty chest? Bummer. It sounded like you had fun anyway, I'm jealous of you guys: what a find! It's true the Nokis have a lot of hidden secrets, caverns and such. I met this old man in the bay and he told me a few stories, he had a lot to say about their caverns." Larry at least seemed to be in a better mood than he had previously been in; I smiled at him before suddenly remembering the crystal. I looked over at Lemmy, who had been relatively silent through-out the whole recollection.  
>"Lemmy, do you want to give Larry what you found?"<br>"Hm? Oh yes!" Lemmy perked up and reached inside his shell. "You're gonna love this, Larry." The look on Larry's face as the shining crystal appeared in Lemmy's hand signified he did indeed love it. Lemmy handed it to him and he spent some time merely gazing at it before turning it over in his hands to get a better look. "It was inside the cavern; I thought you would like it. It came out of the wall so easily too!" Larry nodded, continuing to turn the crystal around in his hands.  
>"Oh it's beautiful ... I <em>do <em>love it. I'm so glad you thought of me like this. Thanks guys!" We all sat around talking for a while before noticing the sun had gone down and it was getting dark.  
>"Well ... I think we should probably take the boat and sail around to where that cove we landed in was," Lemmy said, glaring in the cove's general direction.<br>"Yeah, okay. Are you alright to walk Larry? I can carry you if you want."  
>"I don't think I need carried, but I'd appreciate your arm." Lemmy and I stood on either side of Larry; he put an arm around Lemmy and I took his free hand to make sure he was steady. The boat wasn't too far away anyway and after some time Larry seemed to get used to walking again.<p>

After half an hour of sailing we came to the cove we had arrived in. The airship hadn't been moved, making it a decent landmark.  
>"Where do you think we actually have to go?" I asked, looking up at the empty airship.<br>"There's probably a dark, scary cave or something," Lemmy replied, rolling his eyes. We walked around the airship and sure enough, we found a large opening to a cave with stone spikes jutting out of the top: it looked as though if we walked in we would be swallowed whole. Upon walking into the dark, foreboding cave, however, it began to lighten up, becoming more welcoming. We found a cavern with many paths meandering off at different angles. The room was a large wide circle with torch sconces lighting it up. Its edges were lined with ridges that provided seating. Sitting on a raised platform towards the back of the room, was Bowser. He looked down on us with cold contempt in his eyes.  
>"I see you made it, <em>welcome.<em>" Lemmy instantly reacted, shooting a glacial glare at Bowser.  
>"Yes, we did. Only just, however."<br>"Oh? Why is that?"  
>"Well: I will take a guess that all of our siblings were informed of the hotel's pending doom and they had plenty of time to clear-out before your <em>thing<em> destroyed it."  
>"Well, it was technically Bowser J-"<br>"I really don't care. It's your "plan" and he's an easily manipulated child."  
>"Lemmy ..." I was concerned by how enraged Lemmy was; I didn't like seeing him so wound-up.<br>He looked at me and his expression softened. I took his hand bracingly.  
>"... Well, anyway. Where were you going with this?" Bowser asked with a bored look on his face.<br>"Well, Iggy and I decided to explore today; thank goodness is all I can say, as Larry wasn't informed. When we arrived back at the hotel we found him knee deep in sludge. He was close to death: we only just managed to get him out in time."  
>Bowser's eyes widened for a moment. I was surprised to see his sudden interest, as though Larry wasn't meant to be uninformed.<br>"Well I assure you, there must have been some sort of ... Mistake."  
>"Oh I'm sure, we could sit here and argue all day about how you tried to kill one of your children, or maybe even several. But without evidence: I have no argument. So yeah, let's call it an <em>accident<em>." Bowser seemed amused by Lemmy's accusation, but he didn't deny it.  
>"Are you perhaps, issuing a challenge?" Bowser's stare was filled with danger, but Lemmy simply scoffed.<br>"A challenge? No. What I'm attempting here is to get you to show the slightest bit of emotional response to the fact Larry nearly _died_, you ignorant fool!"  
>"Lemmy ... It's okay," Larry said with a fearful look in his eyes.<br>"No, it's really not, Larry: you would have died if Iggy and I hadn't found you," Lemmy replied coldly, before realising the impact of the words. "Oh, Larry ... I'm sorry."  
>"No ... You're right, Lemmy, it's fine." Bowser still seemed to be struggling to come to terms with the fact Lemmy had called him a fool.<br>"You would dare, to call me a fool?" Lemmy began laughing, but it wasn't his usual happy laugh. It was cold and cruel.  
>"Oh aren't you? You've been trying petty plans for years and still you haven't succeeded in kidnapping and keeping Peach away from those idiotic plumbers." For the first time, Bowser looked pained: Lemmy had struck a nerve. He stood up and let out a huge, terrifying roar. Larry and I both stepped back slightly, but Lemmy stood his ground.<br>"Go on. Try it, I know it's what you've wanted for _months_ now," Lemmy said hatefully.  
>"Lemmy!" I screamed. "Stop this, why fight!?"<br>"He hasn't given me any choice, Iggy." Lemmy replied, looking back at me sadly.  
>"But you <em>do <em>still have a choice: We can leave!" Lemmy took no heed of my pleas and took out his wand. I knew he wanted this as much as Bowser, but I was too terrified to even help him. I looked down at Larry, who was staring up at me with large eyes. He was still young, and therefore petrified. I took him to a small hiding spot in the rocks and tried my best to console him.

Bowser made the first move: he threw a large fireball in Lemmy's direction; it moved with speed, but Lemmy was faster and dodged out of the way gracefully. The fireball flew straight passed Larry and I, causing Larry to yelp and bury his head into my chest. Lemmy countered with a fireball of his own, aimed straight at the ceiling above Bowser. It collided with one of the rock spikes, causing it to tumble down, straight towards him; he lifted an arm to block it. Using the momentary distraction: Lemmy quickly summoned a ball, making his movements even faster. He began to conjure clones of himself while rolling around the room; within a few seconds there were ten of him. They all began bombarding Bowser with fireballs, causing him to roar in pain. This didn't last long, however. Bowser quickly spun around, using his tail as a weapon. Upon colliding with the Lemmy clones they disappeared. The real Lemmy dodged out of the way with ease, conjuring more clones instantly to replace the ones lost. They fired indestructible balls at Bowser this time; knocking him from side to side, impairing his vision and making Lemmy almost impossible to detect. Bowser removed the clones once more with a large sweep while breathing flames and as the clones disappeared, so did the balls. But by this point Lemmy had summoned a huge bomb and it was already hurtling towards Bowser with speed. It flew into his face and exploded at the same time, throwing him back into a wall. As much as it seemed like Lemmy was in control, Bowser got up with blinding speed and spun his tail. Lemmy - who had been in the air - was caught off-guard by Bowser's sudden agility; the tail collided with him, sending him flying into a near-by wall. My blood turned to ice and my heart stopped as I saw him slump down to the floor.  
>"<strong>Lemmy<strong>!" I watched, frozen as Bowser began to advance on him, holding his head as he went.  
>"I didn't expect you to be so good, boy. You took me by surprise, but no more."<br>I quickly snapped out of my trance and began to run towards Lemmy with tears obscuring my vision: momentarily forgetting about Larry, forgetting about Bowser, forgetting about everything. My path was blocked as Bowser jumped in front of me, his eyes, filled with rage. He shot a fireball at me - which I only just managed to dodge - before plummeting his fist into my stomach. I recoiled back into a wall and sank to the floor, coughing. It seemed as though I would be the first to suffer: Bowser got close and triumphantly smiled as he readied himself to end my life. He was suddenly sent flying, however, by an incredible surge of energy. He landed in a crumpled heap, momentarily stunned; unable to move. Larry was standing with his wand raised; a fearful yet determined expression on his face.  
>"I wouldn't suggest getting up, if I were you," He said, glaring at Bowser.<br>"Even you Larry!? _Fool_. I would have spared you." Bowser began to get up but was instantly smashed back against a wall by a green wave. His whole body began to tinge green and he retracted, spluttering against the wall.  
>"What is this ...? What have you done!?" Even though Larry was trembling, this fight was his and he knew it, there was a visible smile on his face.<br>"It's poison. It isn't deadly right now, but it can be if I want it to be: just give me a reason." Bowser began violently coughing, unable to stand.  
>"I didn't - mean to get you - mixed up in this, Larry! You were meant - to be told of the mantra I sent. It was - only Iggy and Lemmy who were - meant to be left out." Larry sent a flurry of blue wisps into Bowser's face; he groaned in pain.<br>"They're my brothers. They're my friends; they saved my _life._ As though telling me that would make me feel any better!?" Larry's voice cracked and he began to tear up once more.  
>"Larry! You are - my most valued - minion- child! Please - don't do this to me!" Lemmy had begun to stir at this point, he looked at the scene with surprise in his eyes. Upon noticing me on the floor he seemed to gain some of his former energy back and half-ran over to me.<br>"Iggy ... He hurt you? I'm really sorry: I just got so angry."  
>"It's alright, I'm fine ... This had to happen at some point. Is your back okay?"<br>"It might be a bit bruised, but it's not too bad." As we spoke, Bowser continued his pitiful begging at Larry's feet.  
>"Please, I am - your father!" Larry looked as though he may start bawling. Lemmy helped me up and we made our way over to him.<br>"It's alright now, Larry. Thank you for saving us," Lemmy said comfortingly with a small smile.  
>"I never knew you were that powerful, Larry: you sent him flying!" I exclaimed with a grin. "I'm sorry for leaving you, I just couldn't let Lemmy get hurt." Larry put his arms around me tearfully.<br>"It's okay, I understood. I in turn couldn't allow him to hurt either of you." We turned away from Bowser and I lowered my voice enough to ensure that he couldn't hear me.  
>"What do we do now? He provides us with food and a roof." Lemmy frowned.<br>"I kind of forgot about that. As much as I hate to admit it: we need him."  
>"I think we should leave him for now, I think we've shown him he can't just use us like pawns," Larry piped in.<br>"I hope you're right, okay then," I replied, looking back at the King, who was still writhing on the ground under the effects of the poison.  
>"I think you've had enough," Larry stated before giving his wand a wave. The green began to recede; Bowser sighed in relief.<br>"Thank you, Larry." Larry turned his head away, looking at the wall. "... R-right. Well, t-the living quarters are t-that way," Bowser stuttered, pointing at one of the paths. He had failed to retain any of his usual composure: a sure sign we had knocked his pride down a peg. We nodded and began to walk down the long, stone corridor. I offered for Larry to stay with us for the night, as he had been through so much. He accepted gratefully and we found an empty room. Much to my delight it had large beds.  
>"Okay ... Sleep time," I mused, collapsing down face first into the middle of the bed; not caring about the fact my shell was still on. Two bodies followed and everything faded to black.<p> 


	16. Outrageous Behaviour

I opened my eyes slowly and immediately became aware of the fact something had changed, but in my state of consciousness I couldn't make out what it was. Larry was on my right and Lemmy, my left. This much hadn't changed. I tried to move but thought better of it as suddenly the whole room began to move. I put it down to a dizzy spell and put a hand over my head: I must have been suffering from the night before. When I took my hand away from my eyes I could barely make something out above me other than the rocky ceiling, but it was still blurry. I began rubbing my eyes frantically as a voice in my head was telling me the thing above me wasn't a good sign. When I had removed the sleep from my heavy eyes, I looked up once more. It was then that I noticed: whatever was above us was metal. It also felt like we were on a cold, hard floor, rather than in a bed. I looked to my left and gasped as I noticed metal bars, upon looking to my right I received the same results. Were we in a cage? I tried to stand up and was met by more swaying: whatever we were in wasn't on the ground. That explained my so-called dizzy spell. I managed with difficulty to force myself into a standing position; the cage was only just tall enough for me to stand in. I carefully put my hands on the bars and looked down, trying my best not to shake the precarious prison. What awaited my eyes made my heart lurch: we were twenty feet in the air; the cage was held up by a large, formidable chain hanging from the ceiling above. The worst of it was the bubbling lava that lay below us. I was suddenly hit hard by the heat in the room; my knees felt as though they were about to buckle and my heart began violently hammering against my ribcage.  
>"L-Lemmy ...!" I gasped, trying to take in what little air was available. "Wake up! Lemmy!" Lemmy's head snapped up and he looked at me with a frown, as did Larry.<br>"Iggy ... Calm ... Down, what ...?" Lemmy began to rub his eyes groggily. "Give me a-"  
>"Lemmy, I- the lava, below us- cage!" I could barely speak; I felt my head begin to spin. Lemmy reacted instantaneously to my frantic speech and stood up.<br>"Iggy, sit down. _Now_." He grabbed my hand and helped me into a sitting position. He then began to rub the back of my neck. "Okay, just breathe." I began to take deep breaths, attempting to gain back some functionality.  
>"Lemmy, h-he's right. W-we are in a cage, above lava," Larry stuttered, looking fearfully at the stainless steel bars.<br>"Both of you, just calm down, please. If we stay calm then we can find a way out of this." Lemmy continued rubbing my neck soothingly. "Just give me a second to stop Iggy from freaking out, then I'll take a look." Lemmy circled around me and put a hand on my face. "Iggy? Look at me." I hesitantly stared into his eyes. He was smiling. "When have we ever failed to find our way out of a bad situation?" I shook my head.  
>"Never."<br>"Exactly. Now, I know you're terrified of lava, I really do; but it's no reason to get yourself wound up." I nodded, remembering how I had managed to deal with the darkness in the trapped room the day before. "Can you handle this? If anyone can think of a way out of this sort of situation: it's you." I nodded again, smiling. I suddenly felt endowed with confidence: Lemmy had so much faith in me. He helped me to stand up again and we both took a look at the area.  
>"Ah, you're awake! How pleasent! It would have been far too boring to dispose of you without having you witness your own demise." Bowser walked into the room with a grin. Lemmy let out a drawn out yawn beside me.<br>"It's boring anyway, not to mention a total cliché. A suspended cage over lava? How many times has that been done?" Bowser's growl was audible, but he continued to smile.  
>"Laugh it up while you may, boy. In return I shall continue to laugh, after you're dead!" Bowser walked over to a raised platform with a lever-type mechanism. "Unfortunately, considering Mario is right on my tail, I won't be able to stay and watch you die. Such a pity, but oh well." He pushed the lever forward and we very slowly began to inch towards the lava, which seemed to bubble in excitement at the prospect of claiming its first victims in a long time. "Goodbye, children. Oh and Larry, do remember that you could have avoided this; embarrassing me was a mistake you won't live to regret." Larry began to tear up and sat down in the cage, staring at the wall. I put my hand on his shoulder as Bowser left the room with a resounding laugh.<br>"So, is this it then?" Larry's voice was barely more than a whisper as he stared up at me with tears in his eyes. His aggrieved expression changed to one of confusion as he watched me laugh. "I-Iggy ...?" I gave his shoulder a light nudge.  
>"Don't worry, Larry. I'm just laughing because of how much Bowser has failed. I'm really not surprised that he has failed all these years to kidnap Peach successfully." Lemmy was watching me intently now, also surprised by the sudden change in me. "Well, where to begin? I'll start with the most relevant: I have time to explain the flaws in his plan, as we're currently moving so slowly it'll take us twenty minutes to die. What was he hoping he could come back in time to see it? It was also extremely short-sighted of him to place us in this sort of chamber, with a large amount of ground for us to escape to. Maybe he was limited in his options, but if that's the case he should've chosen a different method at a different time. It's like he's inviting us to escape, and I will happily accept the invitation. The cage isn't exactly inescapable, the bars are practically big enough that you two could squeeze through. Last of all: we all have our shells. Our shells contain our wands, what a fool. He thought he could kill us and left us our shells? That's just condescending. Lemmy, your wand, please? You too, Larry." I waited for both of them to reach into their shells and produce our way out. "Alright, Lemmy, can you make a ball between the bars at the front of the cage?" Lemmy's eyes flashed with acknowledgement.<br>"Of course ... That's perfect." He aimed his wand at the bars and started to create a ball between them, as instructed. The ball - being indesctructible - easily bent the bars, jamming between them and creating a diamond shaped gap. It was wide enough that even I could slide out with ease.  
>"Okay. Now, Larry, could you blast the ball out of the way?" Larry smiled and with a flick of his wrist the ball was knocked out of its binding; with tremendous speed, it smashed into the closest wall and rebounded into the lava below. "I wonder ... Lemmy, just out of interest, and because we have a lot of time before we are scheduled to die, do your conjured balls disintigrate in lava?" Lemmy cocked his head.<br>"You know ... I don't actually know. I've never exactly been able to test it out, or rather, I haven't wanted to; but if I had to guess I'd say they wouldn't: in this case it will probably just sink to the bottom and stay there; they eventually disappear on their own." I grinned at him and nodded.  
>"We should test it out at some point. Anyway, now comes the finicky part. Larry, you're youngest, so I suggest you go first."<br>"Make sure you're ready, Larry: it's a bit of a drop," Lemmy said, surveying the area below us.  
>"There's no way I can make that jump, guys. It's too far," Larry grumbled, looking at the floor of our prison.<br>"Don't worry. You won't even have to jump, you'll just have to time it," I replied and Larry's eyes flashed.  
>"<em>Oh<em>! Okay, I get you."  
>"I'll stand at the front, since I'm the heaviest. You can both man a side." We all stood in formation and began to rock the cage. With a little bit of momentum we managed to get within close-range of the ground. Larry inched his way closer to me, beside the bars. I leaned over to the side to allow him the space needed to drop, but upon looking down, he cringed.<br>"It's a really long way," He mumbled. Lemmy smiled behind him.  
>"Okay, no problem. Keep it up Iggy, I'll go first. This sort of height is nothing for me." Without hesitation as we swung towards the safe ground, Lemmy slipped out of the cage and landed deftly without any trouble. He turned around and nodded with a grin.<br>"Alright, Larry! If you need to you can close your eyes: just jump and I'll catch you!"  
>"You made it look so easy!" Larry moaned.<br>"You can do it, Larry. Lemmy won't let you fall," I added comfortingly. Larry half smiled at me, although he was as white as a sheet.  
>"Alright, next swing then!" Larry shouted back and Lemmy readied himself. As we got closer, he let himself drop with a yelp; Lemmy caught him easily with a grin. "Thanks, Lemmy," he said with a sigh. I got into position and waited for the correct moment to drop.<br>"Want me to catch you too?" I heard Lemmy shout and he began to laugh.  
>"I think I would crush you," I replied, grinning.<br>"You're boring." Lemmy pouted, but stood out of the way. I bent my head and stuck it out of the cage to make sure I wouldn't knock it on the way and after quick leap I found the ground with a thud. My knees cracked as I hit the ground, causing Larry to run to my side.  
>"Are you alright!?" He looked at my legs with a scared expression.<br>"I'm fine, thanks. Didn't feel a thing: I'm just getting old, Larry," I said with a small smile and he grinned back.  
>"What do we do now?" He asked, looking around the room. "I'm scared of <em>him<em>."  
>"I bet you could take him in a fight though, your power is unbelievable. Did you see the speed that ball flew at? You weren't even trying," Lemmy replied with a grin. Larry blushed, staring at the floor.<br>"Th-thanks!"  
>"I think we should find Ludwig and explain this to him, he'll help us: I'm sure of it," Lemmy continued.<br>"Okay, let's go then."  
>The sound of our heavy breathing could be heard echoing around the circular tunnels, as we rushed to find Ludwig. We had no idea what room he would be in, but we presumed he would be somewhere within the living area we had been in earlier that morning. After checking several empty rooms something caught my attention.<br>"Do either of you hear that?" I strained my ears for the sound, it seemed to be coming from quite far off, but it was definitely there. Lemmy narrowed his eyes.  
>"... Yes. I hear it," He began to giggle, "I know what it is too!" After a moment I realised why Lemmy was laughing.<br>"It isn't?" I asked, as my face broke into a grin.  
>"Oh, but it is!" Lemmy was close to falling over. "It's just like you said: he's so loud!" Larry was scratching his head with a perplexed expression.<br>"Okay, is this some private joke?" Lemmy's grin widened.  
>"Oh, I wouldn't call it that, but it's made quite a few appearances during this holiday."<br>"It's Ludwig, Larry," I explained with a grin. "He's currently asleep and what we're hearing are his snores." Larry's face split into a smile.  
>"Really!? No way, it's like a miniature earthquake!"<br>"He's gonna be angry if we wake him up, remember what he almost did to you on the ship, Larry: you had better stay back, he's more dangerous than Bowser when woken up!" Lemmy said with a sly grin.  
>"I won't argue with that!" Ludwig's snores made him much easier to find than we had originally anticipated. After a few minutes spent combing over the tunnels and listening at different forks, we easily found the room he was in.<br>We gingerly tip-toed into the room, watching the rise and fall of a huge pile of linen. As we got closer we could see his face sticking out from a gap.  
>"He looks so angry when he sleeps, guess he's grumpy all the time," I whispered, cocking my head to the side. Lemmy was having trouble stifling a laugh. "We need to wake him up anyway; may as well give him something cheerful to wake up to. Maybe it'll stop him killing us," I continued, grinning. Lemmy nodded, letting a small amount of laughter escape.<br>"Look at his hair: it's everywhere!" Larry exclaimed, slightly louder than he had meant to. Lemmy burst out laughing, causing the dovet to shift. "Well, looks like he's awake now." The beast arose from his cave.  
>"Why are you in my room!?" Ludwig croaked, without opening his eyes.<br>"Sorry, Wendy: we were just- oh, Ludwig? I didn't realise it was you." Larry and I started laughing harder than ever at Lemmy's taunt.  
>"Enough! I demand to know why you're all in my room! Also, what was the racket last night? I couldn't sleep at all!" Ludwig's eyes were wide open now and he was glaring at us with noticeable fury.<br>"Alright, alright. Calm down," Lemmy replied with a more serious expression. "Perhaps I should tell you about the racket first, as it is part of the reason we're here." Ludwig sat up in his bed, understanding the situation called for his full attention. Lemmy explained the events which had taken place the night before, up until he was knocked out, after which I took over.  
>"He attacked you? That's serious." Ludwig frowned, staring at a spot on the wall. "You think he wants you dead?"<br>"We _know_ he wants us dead," Lemmy continued with a sigh, he then continued the story: explaining how we had woken up in the cage earlier in the morning. Ludwig's shocked expression turned to one of disgust as the story progressed.  
>"I don't know what to say. His behaviour has gotten completely out of hand, it's not a simple case of him not caring whether or not we die now, but he wishes to be the cause of our deaths. Unacceptable."<br>"What should we do?" Lemmy asked, staring right at Ludwig.  
>"I think, we should leave this place, right now. You said Bowser is about to be confronted by Mario, right? Well, I think we all know what the outcome will be."<br>"How will we leave though?"  
>"Ah, Lemmy. You seem to forget I know how to fly his airship, I also know the way home as I spent the night we came to this place watching the route." I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for laughing at the fact Ludwig had spent the night looking out of the window.<br>"So that's what you were doing," I mumbled, staring at the floor.  
>"I had to make sure that if something bad happened, we would be safe. The safety of my family is more imporant to me than the safety of our overlord. Even if you guys do annoy me," Ludwig said with a light expression. Lemmy stuck his tongue out.<br>"Only because you're just _so_ fun to annoy."


	17. One Step Ahead

After we finished finding our way out of the maze of granite, we happened across Morton and Wendy. They were sitting outside on the beach, enjoying the sun. Upon passing them, we heard a small cough.  
>"Where are you going in such a rush?" Wendy asked with narrowed eyes.<br>"We're leaving this place," Ludwig replied shortly, without looking at her. He lowered the hatch which lead into the airship.  
>"Does Daddy kn-"<br>"No, he doesn't."  
>"Then why are you leaving without his permission?" Wendy didn't look particularly angry, but curious instead.<br>"I don't have any time to explain it here; nor do any of us, I need to ensure the safety of the three behind me, and the only sure way of doing just that is to leave this island, now." Wendy looked behind Ludwig and spotted Larry, Lemmy and I. We locked eyes for a moment and she flinched, before shifting her bodyweight into an awkward position.  
>"What do you plan to do?"<br>"In short we plan to go home and see about finding Kamek, would you care to join us? Should you choose to, then I can explain the finer details on the way to both you and Morton. Just decide quickly." Wendy seemed to be struggling with something, she looked between the four of us and shuddered, she then turned her head.  
>"Morton ...?" Morton, who had been sitting lazily watching the events unfold, waved his hand dismissively.<br>"I don't really care, I wouldn't mind staying here because it has nice weather and beaches and sand, but I wouldn't mind leaving either because it's kind of boring after a while and if you get used to the way it looks it's even more boring and the sun gets tiring and-"  
>"Morton, we're in a rush. It would be preferable if you could just decide," Ludwig pressed.<br>"Oh yes of course, it's totally fine if you're in a rush. I understand better than anyone: when you're in a rush, you're in a-"  
>"<em>Morton<em>."  
>"I'll ... Just do what Wendy wants to do." Ludwig wiped a hand over his face exasperatedly.<br>"_Fine_. It's up to you then, Wendy. Are you coming, or are you not? I- we, need to know now." Wendy was awkwardly shifting her eyes between the airship and me, this went on for some time before Ludwig lost his patience.  
>"Wendy, I really think it's time you got a grip."<br>"Excuse me!?" She asked, as red began to flush into her cheeks.  
>"You're terrified of Iggy after what happened to Roy, what you seem to be misunderstanding is that you have a higher chance of getting attacked by that tree, over there." Lemmy began laughing.<br>"It's true, Wendy: you're only fooling yourself." I smiled at both Lemmy and Ludwig, glad that someone had finally told Wendy what a child she was being. Wendy stared towards the ground.  
>"I'm staying here-"<br>"Okay. Goodbye. Come on, guys. What a waste of ten minutes." Wendy looked affronted at being cut off so rudely and cast aside by Ludwig, but she didn't say anything.  
>We all piled into the airship, I cast one look back on Wendy and saw she had lay back on her towel, with her sunglasses firmly pulled over her eyes.<p>

Once inside, we rushed as a unit to the bridge, where Ludwig immediately sat down, ready to fly.  
>"Okay, guys. I've only driven this thing a couple of times; I'm not particularly good at taking off, yet. I'd strap yourselves in if you don't want to end up with your face attached to the window," He said with an inept expression. "I just hope I can do this." Lemmy, Larry and I crossed over to a row of seats on the left hand side of the bridge and sat down.<br>"You'll be fine, and if not then we can simply find another way to get off this island. Iggy and I know some Piantas who told us to go and see them if we needed anything: we're not stuck for options. Right, Iggy?" Lemmy smiled at me, pointing towards the town.  
>"Oh, yeah. Pauline and her husband ... Or brother ... Or friend," I replied with a grin.<br>"Okay then. Still, I apologise in advance for if we crash, that wouldn't be so good," Ludwig replied airily. The statement seemed to scare Larry, as I felt him take hold of my arm. "Right ... Here we go, hold on to your hats, kiddies!" Ludwig said, and with a deep breath he forced a strange looking dial into an upward position. The welcome sound of engines beginning to roar could be heard echoing through the ship. "Well, that worked, at least." Ludwig had sweat beads dripping down the side of his head. He pushed another dial on his left into an upward position and the airship began to ascend, even if somewhat shakily. Larry held onto me with his eyes closed while Lemmy looked as though he was on a rollercoaster. I hated turbulence, it always made my head reel, but the shaking wasn't too bad.  
>"Iggy, look out the window, down there!" Lemmy was pointing down at where Wendy had been lying with a grin. The engines had caused sand to fly in all directions; Wendy and Morton had been covered in it, much to Wendy's apparent chagrin as she had her hands raised in an angry manner. Ludwig scoffed.<br>"If she didn't want that to happen, she should've moved. Idiot." I laughed half-heartedly before looking over at Larry, who still seemed to be unable to open his eyes.  
>"Ludwig, can you get us in the air, fast? Larry's suffering."<br>"Oh ... Right, yeah I'll be as quick as I can. Hang in there a little while longer."  
>"I know! Larry, look at this." Lemmy produced his wand from his shell and stood up, after taking his seat belt off. Although the ship was shaking, it seemed to have no effect on Lemmy and he easily crossed over to the window, using his adept balance. Larry poked his head around my waist and hesitantly opened his eyes. Lemmy then opened the window and pushed it as far as it could go. This caused a blustering wind to enter the airship, but Lemmy didn't care about that - he conjured a ball.<br>"Lemmy, what are you-?"  
>"Just watch!" Lemmy cut Ludwig's anxious voice off before closing one eye, homing in on his target and lightly flicking his wrist, sending the ball spiralling back down to the cove. I stood up and helped Larry do the same, he held onto my waist as tightly as possible, while watching the ball's descent with an amused expression. Wendy was still pacing the same spot, using her arms dramatically to express her anger; it was possible to hear her angry shrieks, even from the air. She was too busy to notice the ball flying straight towards her and by the time she looked up and noticed it, it was too late. The ball collided with her forehead and she fell to the ground in a daze. Lemmy closed the window and as we sat back down the bridge was filled with racous laughter. Even Ludwig, who had been skeptical of the whole idea, was laughing.<br>"Did you see her face when she realised!?" Lemmy emulated the look of shock and terror that had flashed across Wendy's face before she was hit squarely on the forehead by the ball. The act had clearly had the desired effect on Larry, as he was now so distracted by all the laughter, he didn't seem bothered over the shaking airship, at all. After all, it was known in the family that Larry's favourite thing to do was to prank Wendy, be it taking her make-up, or replacing it with particularly horrible substitutes. A few minutes passed before our laughter finally began to die down, and by this point the ship was safely in the air and the shaking had ceased.  
>"Okay, it's going to be smooth from here, it's a lot easier flying in general than taking off."<br>"You would know all about that, eh?" Lemmy replied with a grin. Ludwig turned to glare at Lemmy for a moment as his face turned an angry shade of red. I burst out laughing, but Larry was lightly shaking my arm.  
>"What does he mean, Iggy?"<br>"When you're older, Larry," I replied, smiling at him.  
>"It means he can't get it up," Lemmy shouted with an even wider grin.<br>"Oh ... Okay." Larry looked out the window with a bemused expression. Ludwig looked ready to explode, and so turned his attention back to steering the ship, grumbling something about Lemmy as he did so.  
>"You guys, the ship is safely in the air now, so if you want, you can leave the bridge," He said without turning around.<br>"Thanks, but I think I'll stay here and watch you _fly_!" Lemmy replied, still grinning. Ludwig seemed to melt into his chair with an audible groan.  
>"If you must." Larry tapped my arm.<br>"Are you going to go down-" Lemmy stifled a laugh with a cough beside me. "-to the belly of the ship, Iggy?"  
>"I would consider it, but there are no seats down there, just the cold, metal floor; It screwed up my neck on the way here. I think, since we have the choice, we should stay here."<br>"Oh! I forgot there are no seats ... Fair enough."  
>"You would be fine, at least, Larry: Iggy is comfier than any bed." Lemmy still had a sly look on his face. I raised my eyebrows at him and he began laughing. "What?"<br>"Oh, yes. I've seen you lying on him quite a few times," Larry replied, before I could. His reply set Lemmy off once more.  
>"Right, Lemmy. I think you need to calm down a bit," I said. What he was saying was making me feel awkward; apparently he could tell from my serious expression that he had gone too far.<br>"Okay, Iggy. I'm sorry." He looked at me with large eyes and I couldn't help smiling.  
>"I've said it many times: your face is a weapon." Larry was sitting beside me looking more confused than ever by what had just transpired.<p>

The rest of the journey was relatively silent, Ludwig seemed to have been driven to a state of permanant silence, keeping his eye on the sky. Lemmy had taken my hand and held it ever since apologising, and so we had simply sat, waiting for the time to pass. Larry had fallen asleep on my arm, giving us an incentive to try and stay quiet; I'm sure this was somewhat of a blessing, for Ludwig. After the sun had inevitably disappeared once again, Ludwig cleared his throat.  
>"Well, we're here. I just need to land in the courtyard." I shook Larry gently and repeated the news before we all got our seat belts on and braced ourselves. "Now this is sort of the same scenario as taking off- not a <em>word<em>, Lemmy."  
>"I wouldn't dream of it!" Lemmy replied, covering his laughter with his hand.<br>"Anyway, it's going to be rough." After Ludwig had finished warning us, he pulled another strange looking dial and the ship began falling straight towards the Earth. Our screams momentarily filled the ship before it levelled out as suddenly as it had started falling; I felt my stomach lurch back into its original position. "May have just cut the engines by accident," Ludwig said with an awkward laugh. Larry looked close to tears beside me, I took his hand.  
>"It won't be long now, Larry." I turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig, how close are we to the ground?"<br>"Around four thousand feet."  
>"That'll only take a few minutes, Larry." Lemmy nodded reassuringly beside me and some of the colour seemed to find its way back into Larry's face. After a few more minutes and a thud we had found the ground, and managed to stay in one piece.<br>"Well, we're alive," Ludwig said with a sigh.

We piled out of the airship, and into the courtyard. It felt good to be back on solid ground, especially with Ludwig's precarious flying; Larry looked happier than he had in the past twelve hours, Lemmy seemed unfazed by anything at this point: he was dancing around as usual. I saw him casting worried glances at me every now and then, however. It seemed he was feeling anxious over how I had reacted earlier. I needed a chance to talk to him and tell him it was alright, hopefully we could have at least a day to rest in the castle before anything major happened. I didn't really know what was planned, for that matter. Ludwig's voice suddenly cut through my thoughts:  
>"Let's find Kamek as soon as possible. I reckon we should check the throne room first, he's generally there."<p>

We began making our way into the castle, but it seemed oddly quiet; no one was around.  
>"Ludwig, this seems strange." Lemmy had stopped dancing; he was on red alert. "We should watch our step."<br>"I don't know what you're talking about, Lemmy. The castle is usually this quiet, you worry too much."  
>"No, Ludwig," I replied sternly; "When Lemmy is nervous about something, it generally means something's <em>really<em> wrong." Ludwig stopped for a second and turned to face us.  
>"I got us here, did I not? Please just trust me. Ask yourselves, how could Bowser have gotten here before us, without a ship?" We admittedly had no answer, and Ludwig knew it. He smiled and continued to lead us further into the bowels of Hell. Lemmy and I exchanged looks while trying to conceal our concern from Larry, who was watching us closely. A few minutes passed by, and we were at the throne room, and we still hadn't encountered a single soul since entering the castle.<br>"Ludwig, I'm warning you right now. Something isn't _right_ here. I think we should turn around, and go back to the ship."  
>"Lemmy, don't make me reiterate my earlier point, please. I'm not one to repeat myself." Ludwig impatiently pushed the doors open and much to his surprise: Lemmy had been right.<p>

"_Welcome_, honoured guests. Come, come! Your doom awaits!"  
>"H-how did you ... !" Ludwig was standing with his mouth agape, Bowser's laugh boomed around the throne room. Wendy stepped out from behind him, with a cruel smile playing at her lips. "W-Wendy ... You- you're as bad as he is!" Wendy smirked, before swiftly leaving the room.<br>"You can imagine my surprise when Wendy came and told me that four of my children were escaping the island, in _my_ ship, no less. I'd expect this from you three, but Ludwig?"  
>"Your behaviour has become too volatile for any of us to withstand anymore; the safety of my siblings outranks my fear of<em> you<em>."  
>"We shall see, in time, but first; shall I explain to you how I managed to get here?"<br>"I guess you're going to tell us anyway," Lemmy replied with an irritated glare.  
>"Right you are, my boy. Right you are. Well, Wendy came and told me of your mutiny and I was stuck thinking I would be trapped on Delfino for a very long time. I was badly hurt after Mario-" He paused, staring at the floor. "-Anyway, I had managed to catch him talking to the princess before they left the cave, he had spoken of leaving straight away, in their ship. Oh yes, it was a <em>perfect<em> opportunity. I managed to smuggle Wendy, Morton, Junior and myself into their cargo hold with little trouble, and we waited. It just so happened, to our luck, that the plane touched down around three miles south of the border of Dark Land, to refuel. It was then that we made our escape and made our way back here." Ludwig looked like he might faint: his plan had failed; Bowser had been one step ahead the entire time. What I hadn't noticed, was that Bowser had used his story to gain a lot of distance towards us, and was now within combat range. "As much as I'd love to continue this discussion, I grow tired of you bugs crawling back out of the wood every time I try to _crush you_." Then, out of nowhere, Bowser lunged straight at me with his claw raised. I heard a slash, followed by a scream, and everything went black.


	18. Escape

I felt myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I was unable to feel any pain, but it felt as though my body was losing a lot of liquid. I couldn't move or even see, but I could hear the rushing of feet and panicked whines; I seemed to be being carried.  
>"Seriously, guys. We're all going to die, if this-" The sound of a fireball flying across the room cut Ludwig's voice off. "Look, they're sending out the elites now; that was a fire bro. I think we may just have to leave him-"<br>"I _**warned you**_! I _told_ you something wasn't right and you just wouldn't listen! Leave if you want, but I'll _die_ before I leave Iggy." Lemmy's infuriated voice cut through the air like a knife.  
>"Please, Lemmy. Stop being so difficult: it's only making this worse. I'm just thinking about your safety; those Koopa troops aren't far behind us." Ludwig seemed to be trying to reason with Lemmy, but I couldn't understand what they were talking about.<br>"You think I care about my own safety at all right now!? Well, you're sorely mistaken. The ship isn't even far: if you would just help Larry and I, we could patch Iggy up easily once inside. If Iggy dies because you didn't help, you had better hope that I die too, or _I'll_ kill _you_." I could hear ragged breathing and angry sighs. From what I could make out, Lemmy and Larry were carrying me alone; Ludwig wasn't helping, and Lemmy was angrier than I had ever heard him. I tried to call out; to say something to calm him down, to let him know I was okay, but my voice was strangely unresponsive. The sound of a new voice caused my ears to prick.  
>"If you wish to save Iggy, you must follow me. Quickly now, come this way!"<br>"K-Kamek ... ?" It was Larry who spoke, for the first time. I felt warmth spread over me at the revelation that both Larry and Lemmy sounded completely unharmed.  
>"Do not worry, children: I wish to aid you. Ludwig, come and hold this fabric over Iggy's wound, or his blood will lead the troops straight to us. Now hurry, it's imperrative we aren't spotted together!" I was struggling to understand what Kamek was saying, but it sounded like he had said I had a wound, which was confusing: how did I get a wound? Surely he was mistaken, or I had heard him wrong. I heard a sudden rush of footsteps: footsteps suggesting a second wind had been reached, but I began to drift."We can use this-" Unable to hang on to reality anymore, I allowed myself to slide into unconsciousness.<p>

The voices continued some time later, but I still couldn't see, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything.  
>"Keep pressure on the wound. Give Iggy this and make sure he drinks all of it; not a single drop should go to waste. Do you understand?"<br>"Yes. Kamek, I-"  
>"I cannot help you any further at this stage. I am sorry, Lemmy. You must go now. Ludwig? You know what to do."<br>"Of course." Footsteps began to echo; slowly fading into the distance.  
>"But, Kamek-"<br>"We will meet again, I am sure of it. Until then, farewell!" More footsteps began to float into the distance.  
>"<em>Kamek<em>! Is that monster our father!?" I heard a sigh.  
>"All will become clear in the future, but for now you must leave, and I must go now as well. Goodbye, Lemmy. Good luck, and look out for Iggy, won't you?"<br>"I always have. Goodbye, Kamek, and thank you." I was unable to discern what Kamek's reply was, as he was drowned out by the roaring of engines.  
>"Iggy ... ? You need to drink this; it will help you feel better, you're not allowed to leave me." Lemmy's voice was shaky: I didn't understand, I felt fine other than being unable to see or move; nonetheless, I accepted the liquid as it gently rolled down my tongue and throat. It wasn't unpleasant, - as it was almost tasteless - but I struggled not to gag. Lemmy was gently rubbing my throat to help its journey, "There you go." Lemmy continued to speak softly into my ear, but I slowly lost track of the words, and I fell into a deep sleep.<p>

"D'you think he's going to be okay?"  
>"To be honest, Larry, I really don't know for sure. The gash has already completely cleared up, but he lost a lot of blood. He seems fine though, he'll just need a while to rest, to stop his dizzy spells from flaring up."<br>"That's good. Did you really mean what you said, about ... _Killing _Ludwig?"  
>"Oh, no. Don't worry about that. Did I scare you?"<br>"Maybe a little bit."  
>"Sorry, Larry. I didn't really mean it: I was just struggling to hold it together and Ludwig wasn't exactly helping. The thought of losing Iggy was tearing me apart and Ludwig asking me to leave him was ... Too much."<br>"Don't worry, I understand. I was really upset too. You _did_ warn him." Lemmy gave a small, bitter laugh.  
>"Ludwig seems to think that because he's the oldest he's some sort of omniscient saint; he lets his pride get in the way of his judgement far too often. I have a lot to thank you for, Larry. You saved all our lives, never mind just Iggy's. I told you though, didn't I? You could easily take Bowser down on your own, if it was a fair fight."<br>"He was probably weakened by the amount of damage he had taken over the past few days, but maybe. I'm still terrified of him." Upon opening an eye, I could see Lemmy and Larry sitting close together, at the bottom of a bed: my bed. I presumed Kamek must have had something to do with it, considering originally the airship had suffered from a distinct lack of them. "Look, Lemmy! I think Iggy's coming around." I pulled myself up into a better position, but upon attempting to speak I only managed to produce a small wheeze.  
>"Larry, could you do me a favour and fill a glass with water for him, please?" Larry nodded and turned to smile at me one more time before hopping off the bed and disappearing around a corner.<p>

Lemmy crawled along the sheets until he was close to my face: he was smiling at me, but his eyes gave away how upset he was; before I knew what was happening he had buried his head into my chest and I could feel his tears running down my stomach. I felt tears begin to sting my own eyes: although I had no idea what had happened to me, for it to reduce Lemmy to the wreck lying on my chest, it must have been serious. I began rubbing his head, before putting my arms around his small body and lifting him up and into an embrace.  
>"I ... I thought-" Lemmy was struggling to even speak. I shook my head and tried my best to smile.<br>"What happened?" I mouthed.  
>"Bowser ... He caught us all off guard, h-he just flew for you out of nowhere." My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered a claw flying at me. Lemmy directed my eyes to the left hand side of my body and my eyes widened even further when I noticed the formidable scar running up the length of my stomach.<br>"Luckily the cut wasn't too deep. It was deep enough that you lost a lot of blood, though. Almost ... _Too_ much blood." Lemmy's eyes began to fill with tears again, I held up a hand to stop him explaining more and pulled him into another hug. "I'm sorry for what I said on the airship the other day ... I got carried away," Lemmy continued with a muffled voice. The statement took me by surprise, as it was the last thing I had been expecting to hear at that moment. Lemmy lifted his head up and looked at me sadly. I shook my head with a shocked expression.  
>"Don't worry," I breathed, trying my best to produce even the slightest of sound. This had clearly been eating at Lemmy for a while, considering he let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this and lay his head back down on my chest. Larry arrived back with a glass of water and upon noticing Lemmy and I he looked as though he may leave again, but I beckoned him forward with my free hand. He hesitantly walked forward and handed me the glass before sitting down beside Lemmy and putting a hand supportively on his back. The water burned as it ran down my throat; causing me to cough, but it cleared it slightly. I decided to attempt speech once more.<br>"Thanks, Larry." My voice was croaky, but I could speak again. "I can tell you both now, that I was partially conscious from the point where Kamek showed up-" I made a point of leaving out the fact I knew Ludwig wanted to leave me, for Lemmy's sake. "-and I'm wondering, how did you manage to escape with me being unconscious?" Lemmy looked straight at Larry with a grin; Larry blushed, staring at the bed sheets.  
>"I may have ... Had something to do with it."<br>"Larry knocked Bowser for six, again. We didn't stick around long enough to find out as Koopas started appearing by the hoard, but I think he may have knocked him unconscious."  
>"Well ... He did hit the wall pretty hard," Larry added, smiling;"After I saw him attack you I wanted to hurt him ... So I did, I guess." I put a hand on Larry's shoulder.<br>"Looks like we owe you, again."  
>"Not at all, it was my pleasure." I turned back to Lemmy.<br>"How did you get to the airship?"  
>"Kamek knew of this strange passage that led us to the courtyard, there were literally no troops deployed there, so getting you to the airship wasn't too hard."<p>

A few minutes passed, in which we happily spoke to each other, Lemmy still seemed to be fragile, but he was picking up, which made me feel a lot happier. After a while, however, I began to get restless.  
>"Guys ... I take it Kamek made this bed, didn't he?"<br>"Yeah, he made it as soon as we came in here, it was quite a job changing the sheets after you stopped bleeding," Lemmy replied. I sighed and he looked at me. "Why, is there something wrong?"  
>"Well, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but ... It's really uncomfortable: the mattress is all lumpy." Lemmy bounced up and down a bit.<br>"Yeah, you know it kind of is. I suppose he just didn't think? There was a lot going on; he seemed stressed. It can't be helping that you're still in your shell."  
>"Do ... Do you think you could both help me up? I need to walk around for a bit."<br>"Well ... Okay, but if you get dizzy, tell me right away and I'll march you straight back here," Lemmy said with a serious look, before smiling. He and Larry both came to the left hand side of the bed and helped me slowly lower my legs down so that they were hanging over the edge of it.  
>"Okay, are you ready? Keep a tight grip on our hands."<br>"Yeah ... Here we go." I lowered my legs slightly further and felt them press against the cold, metal floor. The sensation was nice, although it sent a chill right up my body. I extended my legs to bring me up to my full height, and the dizziness began.  
>"Iggy, you've gone marble white. Maybe this is a bad idea." I shook my head and cursed at the pain it caused. "Careful now, don't move too much."<br>"I can do this. Just give me a second to adjust." A minute passed in which I stood in place, held steady by my two brothers on either side of me.  
>"Okay ... I think, I'm ready to move now. I think if I start moving, it will get easier." Larry looked concerned, but he refrained from saying anything. "It's okay, Larry, I have you both to help me. That bed is killing me; I need at least five minutes away from it." Larry didn't seem convinced, but he nodded and smiled anyway. I took my first step away from the bed, and nothing terrible happened. "Okay, that wasn't so bad. Can we go and see Ludwig?"<br>"Well ... We can. If you think you can handle stairs," Lemmy said, with an unreadable expression.  
>"You don't like this, do you?"<br>"Not one bit, but if you really want to see him, I'll help you as much as I can." I nodded, truthfully hoping that Lemmy and Ludwig would sort things out: the last thing we needed were more divisions right now.  
>A few long minutes later, we had finally reached the stairs, which seemed much more daunting than I had anticipated.<br>"Okay, are you still sure?" Lemmy asked, looking nervously between the stairs and me.  
>"I'm going to use both railings; it's narrow enough for that."<br>"Alright ... I'll walk right behind you, if you even get a twinge, a slight signal that makes you feel uneasy, tell me then and there: I'll make sure you don't fall." I smiled at how protective Lemmy was being, it felt good to have him so close.  
>I began to climb the stairs, the first few were fine, but after that my level of stability began to decrease rapidly. I felt Lemmy place both hands on the bottom of my shell. Looking up, it looked as though there were a million stairs to go.<br>"Keep going, and don't look behind you. I'll keep my hands on your shell." With Lemmy's help I managed to fight my way to the top of the stairs and onto the bridge. Ludwig was sitting silently, staring at the sky ahead.  
>"You know, you should probably still be in bed."<br>"I was never one to follow the rules, we're 'evil', remember?"  
>"Touché."<br>"I helped him up here, he really wanted to see you."  
>"Oh, I didn't notice you, Lemmy."<br>"Probably because I'm so small." Everyone in the room laughed and the tension ceased, I felt the breath I had been holding release in relief.  
>"Well ... There are a few things we need to discuss anyway, the first being my behaviour back at the castle. Please, forgive me for my rash thinking, I wasn't myself. Fear for our lives made me lose faith." Lemmy looked shocked, but pleased.<br>"I understand how much pressure you were under. I wasn't exactly myself either, I apologise as well."  
>"Accepted, I'm sure we can just move on, but first we- I, should probably tell Iggy-"<br>"I was partially conscious when all that happened, I already know."  
>"O-oh ... Well, alright."<br>"Don't worry, I'm not bothered," I said with a small smile. "You were just trying to keep Larry and Lemmy safe." Ludwig looked pained, but he nodded.  
>"Next, how about I take a moment to acknowledge just how incredibly powerful you are, Larry. I was so shocked, you knocked Bowser out cold from the looks of things." Larry stepped out from behind me and nodded, he was bright red.<br>"Are you alright, Larry? You're awfully quiet today," I asked.  
>"Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm alright. Just, a little bit shaken up by all this. Seems like we've not had much of a break these past few days." Larry's face reddened even further as I kneeled down and put my arms around him, but he didn't try to break out.<br>"It's okay to be scared, Larry," I said softly. "Heck, even I'm scared, and I'm much older than you are. You've been incredibly brave. We can rest now, can't we, Ludwig?"  
>"Yes, we can. I'm planning on flying us to a sheltered part of the Mushroom Kingdom, we should be safe there, and if the weather proves good it will make for a relaxing spot."<br>"There, does that sound good, Larry?"  
>"Yeah! Maybe I can do some exploring," Larry said with a smile.<br>"As long as you don't go too far," Ludwig replied with a stern expression."Remember, we have a large and permanant bounty on our heads in the Mushroom Kingdom, being spotted probably isn't advised; even if you _are_ still a child, those plumbers aren't going to be very kind." Larry nodded, fully aware of the dangers.  
>"I'll be careful, Ludwig."<p> 


	19. The Mario Brothers

**_Chapter Four: Truth Will Out_**

I woke up with an arm wrapped around Lemmy, who was lying on my chest: even after a few days had passed it was clear he refused to be outwith a five metre radius of me, in case I needed anything. Even Larry had stayed relatively close for the most part, and was delighted when I'd offered for him to sleep on the bed with Lemmy and I, after I had noticed he seemed strangely reserved over the matter. I had no idea where or how Ludwig was sleeping, all I knew was that he often went out and into the Mushroom Kingdom for hours on end, to pick up news.  
>I smiled down at Lemmy. Truthfully I was glad about the fact he was with me at all times, and if it made him feel better, then that was just an added bonus. I lay still for a while, basking in the morning sun that was flowing in through the window and softly stroking Lemmy's hair, until the bed began to get the better of me. I shifted my position, trying to find one that was less lumpy; I felt Lemmy begin to adjust his positioning as well, he seemed to be looking for something: I lifted my hand up near my chest and he took it; I couldn't help grinning at how cute he was while sleeping. I lay my head close to the pillow, finally having found a suitable position to lie in. Lemmy let go of my hand and shifted his body completely, so our faces were almost touching; It was then his eyes began to flutter, as I stared at him.<br>"Morning," I said with a grin. He stretched his arms out behind his head before putting one on the back of my head.  
>"Hey, Iggy."<br>"Good sleep?"  
>"I was lying on you, so I don't think I even need to answer. You?" My grin widened.<br>"Not too badly: I'm finally getting used to this bed, at least to some extent."  
>"That's good. It's comfier than the floor, at least." I looked at the shiny metal floor and cringed, remembering how crippling it was.<br>"True ... Hey, have you seen Larry? I was sure he was on the bed with us last night."  
>"I saw him get up early; I presume he was going to explore, after all it's been a few days since we landed here and he hasn't done any yet."<br>"Oh! Yeah. I wish I felt a bit better: we could have gone with him."  
>"I've never done any exploring with Larry, he seems good at finding interesting things. We've never even had a chance to look around the Mushroom Kingdom; he must be beside himself." Lemmy got up and hopped off the bed, before turning to stare at me. "Are you hungry? There's still enough bread for a few days, or there's a bit of milk left if you want cereal." I had no idea what I felt like eating, or even if I felt like eating at all.<br>"Well ... I might like a bit of-" I paused, as something had just made a rather loud noise outside. "Did you hear that, Lemmy?" Lemmy narrowed his eyes, looking towards the window.  
>"I did, what do you think it could be?"<br>"Well, it was loud, whatever it was." Lemmy came over and helped me to get up.  
>"Let's take a look, shall we?"<p>

I stood shivering for a second as the hatch opened, allowing a cool breeze to flow into the airship and bite at my skin.  
>"It's cold today ... I hate the cold," I whined.<br>"Hopefully this won't take long, you can stay inside, if you'd like?"  
>"No way, I want to see who, or what, made that noise; and I need some air anyway." Lemmy held my hand and helped me to get down the steps that led to the clearing Ludwig had landed in a few days prior to now.<p>

All around us in a circular fashion were trees, shielding us from prying eyes of the Mushroom Kingdom: locals looking for rewards, mercenaries, informants, all were common; all were looking for us, and apparently - according to Ludwig - the news of our arrival in the Mushroom Kingdom had spread like wildfire. The clearing let in a fantastic amount of sunlight, giving it a warm feeling, even if the wind prevented the heat. All around us the trees were dancing with the wind and at the edge of the clearing on our left, was a babbling brook, providing the area with a perpetual song. This made it harder for Lemmy and I to fully hear the muffled noises that were coming from an unknown source on our right.  
>"It sounds like people are fighting ... Or someone is struggling, at least," I said with a frown, suddenly worried about Larry. Lemmy narrowed his eyes.<br>"I think you may be right, and we have no way of avoiding whoever it might be." He scanned the area carefully. "Over there, Iggy."

My worries were confirmed as three figures emerged from the dense forest. One in green, one in red, and a Koopaling I knew well.  
>"I told you the ship would be close, brother, and look: here it is!" He looked over and spotted Lemmy and I, before spitting on the ground, "As well as its inhabitants." The one in green nodded back at the smaller one timidly. The sight of us was clearly enough to make him want to run away, and upon seeing the intimidating glare on Lemmy's face, he looked as though he may do just that. I turned to Lemmy with a grimace.<br>"We should try to handle this diplomatically, they have our brother."  
>"Fine, but I can't promise much, so I'll let you do the talking," Lemmy replied with a grave expression. The two brothers were standing directly opposite on us, near the tree line. One wore a menacing leer, and the other, a look of terror. They were holding onto Larry, who had a bag over his head and his hands tied. He was struggling to get away from his captures, but the one in red punched his stomach and with a groan his movements ceased. The one in red looked over at Lemmy and I with a malicious grin spread across his face; Lemmy began shaking beside me.<br>"Hurry up, Iggy, get talking; before I sink a claw into his face." I nodded hastily and made a move towards the two antagonists. Mario reacted by pulling Larry closer to him; almost shielding my brother from view.  
>"We found this <em>monster<em> observing some flowers; probably planning on starting a fire, or something." Larry said something muffled in response, but the one in red ignored him. "Naturally, we got the jump on him and tied him up, and we found this little _base_ of yours close-by." Now that I was closer I began to recognise some finer details: the moustache, the blue eyes, even his strong jaw-line, they were all very familiar. I cocked my head to the side, trying to put a name to the face. "You haven't seen me in a long time, Koopaling, so I'm not surprised you can't remember me, especially without my hat." A hat, a _red_ hat. That was familiar, but where from? My memory was so hazy all of a sudden. I turned to look at Lemmy, who seemed to be having the same thought process as myself. "Maybe it will jog your memory if I tell you that I defeated your pathetic father a few days back." My eyes widened: Mario. It was Mario. He and his brother were here, and they had Larry. I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread, but there was another emotion fighting for dominance: it was hope.

"Please, listen to me," I exclaimed with a pleading expression. "We mean you no harm. Larry loves nature; he would have been observing that flower because he likes them." Larry nodded vigorously underneath his bag.  
>"A likely story. Why would you be here, if you didn't mean any harm!?" Mario spat.<br>"Because, we're seeking temporary refuge from our tyrant of an Overlord, here in this clearing." He stared at me blankly.  
>"Speak English, Koopa." I rolled my eyes.<br>"I _am _speaking English, what I mean is that we're hiding from Bowser until we have a plan of action-"  
>"What? You're his minions, you have no reason to take action against him. You're <em>lying.<em>" Mario arrogantly turned to his brother, looking for confirmation. Luigi hesitantly nodded, white as a sheet. I sighed, staring at poor Larry, who seemed to be fighting to get to the source of my voice.  
>"I'll explain the whole story to you, if you will just release my brother. He's still a child, he's terrified, and what you're doing is disgusting."<br>"That's _right_." Lemmy's voice came from behind me. "You're lucky I haven't attacked you, _yet_." I shot a frantic look at Lemmy, the last thing we needed was an aggravated Mario right now. His eyes widened with realisation and he looked at me apologetically, before turning around to face the ship. Lemmy's voice seemed to have given Larry even more drive, he had started thrashing violently under Mario's grip, making it hard for the plumber to hold on. It was horrible to watch.  
>"Oh, you, attack me?" Mario shouted aggressively, struggling to keep a grip on Larry. "Well, I'd love to see that. In fact, I <em>will<em> let this one go," He gestured at Larry before removing his binds and bag, "Because I'm confident I can take you all down without even breaking a sweat." Lemmy's laughter momentarily resonated through-out the clearing.  
>"Alright, plumber. We'll see." Larry ran towards me with teary eyes and threw his arms around me.<br>"It's okay now, Larry."  
>"I hate being unable to see!" His voice cracked, and he seemed as though he was about to burst into sobs. I bent down slowly and returned his embrace.<br>"I know, I know, but it's all over now. I'll try to deal with this, if I can. Why don't you go and stand next to Lemmy, he'll be wanting to see you." I gave him a pat on the back and he scampered over to Lemmy, who took his hand. I turned back to Mario once more.  
>"I hope you're proud of the fact you've partially traumatized a child." Mario merely scoffed, with a contemptuous sneer. "Now, can we stop the talk of fighting, please? That's the last thing any of us need right now." I saw Luigi nodding uncertainly, behind Mario. "We have a bigger problem sitting in Dark Land, a common enemy, if you will." Mario scoffed for a second time.<br>"You want me, _Mario_, to help you defeat _Bowser_? Don't make me laugh. If he doesn't have Peach held captive, he's not my problem." My eyes widened at Mario's ignorance.  
>"Yes, actually, he is. Don't you realise that he's just going to continue trying to kidnap that Princess?" Mario looked confused for a moment, before shaking his head.<br>"I'll be more vigilant in her protection, in future," He mumbled, staring at the ground. I turned around for a moment, feeling my hope beginning to dwindle. Upon turning back I took a deep breath.  
>"Just ... Let me the whole situation at least, please!" Mario stood for a moment, looking unsure. He turned to Luigi, who seemed too petrified to respond.<br>"...Fine. I'll let you explain, but be quick about it."

I spent the next few minutes explaining what had transpired over the past few weeks as eloquently as I could; pouring particular detail into Bowser's attempts at killing us.  
>"So ... You say that he has tried in several ways to kill you?"<br>"_Yes,_ passively _and_ directly."  
>"Now you're trying to put an end to him?"<br>"If that's what it takes." I found myself frozen; waiting with baited breath as Mario stood silently for a moment, sizing me up.  
>"... And why should my brother and I believe you? You were <em>raised<em> by _Bowser_: it could be a trick." Mario spat on the ground in disgust, once more. "You'll probably attack me as soon as I turn my back for a few seconds." My hope was on the brink of extinction.  
>"<em>Please<em>, it's as I said: we mean neither this region nor you any harm, if we did, then believe me when I say you would know. We've been here for days and haven't so much as hurt an insect. It would be so much more ideal if you could just work on shutting us down _if_ you discover us starting something that may cause danger to the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, which we have no intention of-"  
>"I won't give you the chance to kill me in my sleep. I can't possibly believe you, your words are <em>poison<em>. I'll put an end to you right here and now to save me the trouble of doing it later!"  
>"<em>Stop<em>!" I watched in horror as the plumber began to charge at me, full throttle. If I even tried to get away, I would end up floored by nausea. I stood, immobilized and helpless as Mario advanced, he readied a fist as he came within melee range. I closed my eyes and cringed, but nothing happened.

I opened my eyes hesitantly and gasped.  
>"L-Lemmy?"<br>"I won't let anyone touch you, ever again." Lemmy had materialized and was standing protectively in front of me; on top of one of his conjured balls, with his own claw raised. Mario was lying on the ground in a daze. His eye had a large, oozing red mark over it where Lemmy's claw had connected with his face.  
>"I'm ... I'm going to get you for that." Mario began slowly trying to get up.<br>"Threaten me all you like, but try to harm Iggy and we're going to have a major problem. You should have listened to him," Lemmy grinned at the plumber, "You would have lived longer." He turned to me. "I suggest you make your way over to Larry: he'll keep you safe." But I didn't move, I stood still, watching the events take place with a bemused expression.  
>"You insolent little brat! I'll <em>kill <em>you!" Mario began to run at Lemmy once more, but was instantly knocked back by another of his conjured balls.  
>"I'll give you and your brother one final chance to leave us alone, as I now refuse to co-operate with such a contemptuous fool. I <em>seriously<em> suggest you take this opportunity to get out of here, because if you somehow manage to take _me_ down: Larry will mop you up in no time at all. I just want some fun at your expense, consider it payback for gagging and kidnapping my brother." Lemmy's grin was filled with danger, but his amusement was clear.  
>"M-Mario ... Maybe he's right-"<br>"_Quiet._" Mario rounded on the one in green, who I could only assume was Luigi. "Luigi, will you help me fight him, or not?" The taller of the two brothers stared at Mario with terror in his eyes. He seemed to be struggling to make up his mind over who scared him more: his brother, or us Koopalings.  
>"I'll ... Help you, Mario."<br>"Good choice."  
>"Iggy?" I snapped out of my reverie and, as I turned, I saw Larry standing relatively close to a small dike. He beckoned to me and so I hesitantly made my way over to him. "You want to watch this, I guess? You seemed pretty transfixed." I sat down on the wall, beside him.<br>"Well ... It's like you said: it's been a while since we got to relax, and I think watching Lemmy make a fool of that stuck-up plumber after all that just happened may just take the edge off a bit." Larry grinned at me.  
>"Maybe you're right, I'll make sure he doesn't try to hurt you, okay?" I smiled, before putting my arm around him.<br>"Okay, that works for me." Larry was watching the scene with a frown. I surveyed him, looking for any damage; he looked fine, at least. "What about you, though, Larry? How are you holding up after what they did to you? That must have been horrible."  
>"I had just found a really nice meadow, and was enjoying myself in the flowers and suddenly everything just went black and I felt my hands being tied. I tried to struggle but they beat me down." I began rubbing his back soothingly.<br>"Well, Lemmy is really angry with them, he could barely stop himself from attacking them when he saw you." Larry looked at me sadly.  
>"I'm glad I have you and Lemmy," He turned back to the escalating scene. "But even if what they did was far from justified, this just ... Well, it doesn't really feel right: we're just proving them right by fighting them."<br>"They made numerous attempts at aggravating us: I hate the fact they gagged you, and even harmed you in front of us. I tried to explain what's going on; I was even hoping they might aid us, but they're not even trying to listen. Mario even tried to attack me, I think they deserve it." Larry nodded.  
>"I feel sorry for the taller one, Mario has some serious issues going on."<br>"I think he's too used to being the hero; it's all gone to his head, and now he's faced with Lemmy, who takes great delight in humiliating people and stripping them of their pride. The tides have changed: we're not kids anymore. I can see this being an interesting match up, and Lemmy's going to make this very fun to watch, for your sake."

As Larry and I continued to discuss the upcoming fight, Lemmy was dancing jovially on top of the ball he had conjured. The wind, the trees, and even the stream seemed to have stopped their own dancing to watch the upcoming fight; leaving the clearing with an eerie level of silent serenity.  
>"Are you both ready? Standing around quarrelling isn't going to get rid of me."<br>"Shut up, and stop dancing! How do you expect to beat both of us while dancing!?" Lemmy's grin widened even further.  
>"Let me show you!" With blinding speed, Lemmy circled around the baffled plumbers; conjuring and throwing balls in all directions. The plumbers were overwhelmed by his speed and could barely keep track of where he was. Mario randomly threw out one of his fists in a rage, but rather than hitting Lemmy he only managed to smack Luigi to the floor.<br>"Ouch!"  
>"Be <em>quiet<em>, you are such a cry-baby," Mario snapped. Lemmy stopped and began laughing.  
>"You're fighting me, not your brother. Are you even trying?" Mario began grinding and gnashing his teeth like a hungry bear; his eyes were stricken with madness.<br>"Luigi, _get up_, and as for you: I suggest you stop dancing and get serious, before I really hurt you."  
>"What, so you still presume I can't take you out while having fun? That would be boring, but if you'd like I can at least ramp things up." Lemmy winked and started his assault once more, but this time he summoned four clones that emulated his movements, causing the Mario brothers to spin around in confusion. The clones started jumping around, hopping between the balls. This went on for some time, but Mario eventually span around with a roar; throwing his fists in all directions in a blinding flurry. The clones were all destroyed, and Lemmy was caught and knocked flying off his own ball. Larry stood up in shock, readying himself to help.<br>"Wait, Larry. Give it a second," I said with a smile.  
>"Okay, but why?"<br>"Because, I have a strong feeling Lemmy is playing with him." Mario began laughing cruelly, watching Lemmy, with an arrogant smile; as he travelled towards the ground.  
>"Guess ... You're not as good ... As you thought," He panted, trying to catch his breath. Lemmy straightened himself out and waved his wand gracefully, he then landed on a ball he had created while still in the air. Upon noticing Mario's mouth, lying agape, he filled the clearing with a fresh wave of laughter.<br>"You call that a punch? I've felt stronger gusts of wind." Larry began clapping happily beside me.  
>"Okay, Iggy. You were right. This <em>is<em> fun: Lemmy really makes fighting look like a show."  
>Lemmy heard the clapping and turned to look at Larry and I. I smiled at him happily and he took a deep bow.<br>"S-stop! What are you _doing_!?" Mario demanded, looking angrier than ever.  
>"Having fun. You should try it some time," Lemmy replied with a grin. "You've not got long left, so I'd probably start trying now, if I were you."<br>"Stop _patronizing_ the great Mario!"  
>"Give me a reason to believe you're 'great', and maybe I'll take you seriously," Lemmy replied, still smiling. "Remember, you asked for this; we didn't have to fight." Mario let out a roar of anger.<br>"Enough of this. Maybe _this_ will show you just how serious _I_ am." Mario looked over at Larry and I with a malicious smile.  
>"Why is he looking at us with that unsettling smile?" Larry asked, adjusting his position so he was blocking Mario's path to me.<br>"I don't know, Larry. I think he's going to try something a little bit crazy. Be careful." There was a mechanical noise and suddenly Mario had some sort of device on his back. It looked like a water dispenser of sorts.  
>"I picked this up in Delfino, allow me to show you one of its many features!" The machine's neck extended out and fired a huge torrent of liquid at Larry and I. My eyes widened as I realised what it was.<br>"Larry! Don't let it touch you!" I grabbed him and dived to the muddy ground, covering him with my arm. Luckily I was fast enough that no water managed to touch either of us. The boiling water hit the wall in our stead, and singed the moss sitting on the top of it, giving off a faint sizzle. I felt a dizzy spell hit me out of nowhere and held a hand to my head.  
>"Iggy ..." Larry was looking at the wall with a horrified expression. "Thank you ... Are you alright!?"<br>"Yeah," I said through clenched teeth. "None of it hit me, I'm just dizzy." I looked up at where Mario was standing and it appeared he was readying himself for a second wave.  
>"Time to dispose of them-" But Mario was unable to finish his sentence, he began spluttering and coughing.<br>"Don't look, Larry." I covered Larry's eyes by holding him close and he buried his head into my chest. I watched with a grimace as Mario began holding a hand to his throat. Blood was beginning to freely flow through a sudden gash that had appeared along the length of his throat. He dropped to his knees, with eyes the size of cricket balls.  
>"I did tell you that if you tried to hurt Iggy we would have a <em>serious <em>problem. This was _our_ fight and you ruined it with your petty, childish attitude. You don't deserve any dignity." Lemmy was standing above Mario with a disgusted expression on his face. Crimson began to stain the ground in a small pool around the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.  
>"F-f-f-" Unable to utter the words he so desired to spit at Lemmy, the great Mario came to rest on the ground.<p>

Meanwhile, Luigi had been cowering for the past five minutes; clearly hoping it would all simply come to end. Lemmy looked over at his shivering form.  
>"Luigi, that's your name, isn't it?" Luigi flinched upon hearing his name.<br>"Y-yes?"  
>"Your brother, he's dead. You're free of him; I suggest you leave. I'm not going to attack someone who's too scared to fight, that's neither fair nor justified."<br>"Mario ... Dead?"  
>"Yes, I'm sorry, but to say he didn't deserve it would be a lie. He got what was coming to him."<br>"M-M-Mario!" Luigi looked upon his brother's corpse, trembling from head to toe. "It can't be!" He began running at Lemmy, with tears in his eyes. "I'll get you! I'll _kill_ you!" Lemmy began easily dodging the green plumber's attacks with a sympathetic expression.  
>"Look, he drove me to it and he treated you nearly as badly as us-"<br>"Shut up!" Luigi flailed his hands around at all angles, trying his best to inflict any form of damage on Lemmy, but he was simply too agile to be hit.  
>"What should we do, Iggy? He's utterly enraged," Larry asked. I sighed in response.<br>"If there's one thing Lemmy's good at, it's calming people down. I don't think either of us getting involved would be a good idea right now."  
>"Listen to me, Luigi: I know what it's like to lose a brother that hurts and bullies people to get what they want. After a week it becomes much easier to come to terms with; it's hard to accept at first, I know, but he would have ended up killing you at some point, the way he was going on."<br>"Never! Koopa lies, all of it!" Luigi was completely inconsolable. He continued his attempts to harm Lemmy, but he was getting nowhere. A minute passed before a fireball came surging passed Larry and I and within seconds Luigi went up in flames. He fell to the ground, screaming and writhing in agony. His screams pierced through my body like a knife, causing me to hold both hands to my ears and curl up. His blood curdling screaming seemed like it would never stop. I felt Larry rubbing my neck; whispering words of comfort, but I couldn't tell what they were: I was momentarily out of touch with reality. Everything slowly came to a halt around me, and all that existed was a torturous plane filled with anguished screeches; whether they were Luigi's or my own, I could not tell.

After what seemed an age, the screams slowly died off; the Mario brothers were no more. I felt Larry take my hand; he helped me to sit up and he wrapped his arms around me once more.  
>"Thank you, Larry," I said weakly, before looking over at Lemmy. He was standing with an unreadable expression, staring down at the most recently killed plumber.<br>"What _happened _here?" Ludwig's voice rang out like a bell across the clearing.  
>"Ludwig ... Y-you didn't have to kill him. He was just upset," Lemmy stated, ignoring the question.<br>"I've been watching you dodge him for a few minutes and he seemed _very_ intent on killing you."  
>"I had it under control!"<br>"It certainly did _not_ look like it from here." Ludwig came out from behind a large tree. Larry slowly helped me to stand and walked me to the ramp.  
>"Iggy grabbed me and dived to the ground to save me from that boiling water; he's still fragile. If we're to discuss this, can it be in the ship?" Larry asked with concern in his eyes.<br>"Yes, of course."

Ludwig gestured to the ship and Larry and I began to walk towards it, but I stopped upon noticing Lemmy was motionless.  
>"Lemmy ... ?" I took his hand and he snapped out of his trance.<br>"Oh ... Yeah, let's go." Much to Lemmy's surprise I bent down and picked him up, but he didn't argue. "You know, I'd get annoyed if anyone else picked me up," He said with a small smile and I chuckled. "Are you okay? How is your head?" He continued, as I carried him to the bed.  
>"It's clearing. The headaches never last long anymore, which is a sure sign of improvement, they just come in bursts," I whispered in reply as Lemmy hopped out of my arms and onto the bed. He turned to me and helped me clamber into it. Larry came up to the bed and took my hand.<br>"Are you okay, Iggy?" He asked anxiously. "Your reaction skills were outstanding, but it must have taken quite a toll on you."  
>"Yes, Larry. The dizzy spell is passing, thanks. I reacted purely on instinct, that water would have done a lot of damage to us; I couldn't give Mario that satisfaction." I gave Larry a grin and he returned it, while hopping up and onto the bed to sit beside me.<br>"And you're alright after Luigi ...?" I hesitantly stared at the floor.  
>" ... I'll be fine, as soon as his screaming stopped it got easier." Larry nodded and put his head on my arm. Lemmy took my free hand and we sat together in silence for a little while before Ludwig came in.<p>

"Right. First thing's first," Ludwig said as he entered the room. "I feel it's important I tell you this." From the look on Ludwig's face, it wasn't good news. "I would have liked to stay here longer, for your recovery's sake, Iggy."  
>"We're leaving, already?" Lemmy exclaimed with an irritated expression.<br>"Yes, I'm sorry, all of you, I really am; but we need leave tomorrow."  
>"Why?" Larry asked with a similar expression to Lemmy. What Ludwig replied caused us all to exchange silent looks of apprehension.<br>"I overheard a conversation. According to the locals in a near-by town: an informant managed to find the location of this clearing last night; by tomorrow the whole of the Mushroom Kingdom will know the location of our ship."


End file.
